MRcats
by Nyctra Scandia
Summary: Max and the flock are zapped into cats. WTF. -DISCONTINUED STORY-
1. Total Turns

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to Page 1 on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 1: Total Turns **

Okay--no body ask how we got in this position! It had been a normal day…Alright, alright, so no day is normal for us. But you get the point. Anyway, we, um…we woke up as cats. Complete shock, I tell ya. Good thing Total was sleeping and didn't eat us in our sleep.

"Whoa!" was what just about everyone blurted out that morning. Along with various swears. You should have seen Ig, he was wondering why he felt hairy, but didn't seem to understand that he wasn't _hairy, _he was _furry. _

So what did I do? I called them all in front of me. Right after we had mouse for breakfast. Claws are cool…

"Yo! Clan meeting!" I barked. Um, okay, yowled.

Angel and Gazzy were at the front, Total beside Gazzy. The Gasman looked nervous, glancing at Total, shifting from paw to paw. I figured he didn't like the fact that he was smaller than the small dog now. He and Angel were white now, Angel being a fluffy white furball and Gazzy a mangy white tom.

Nudge had her back to Fang, shifting her wings anxiously. Fang had an ear angled in her direction, but I shrugged that off.

Behind them, Iggy was licking his paw, getting familiar with his new body with his tongue, since he didn't have hands.

"This has to stop," I began, a little disgusted. No sooner had I spoken, had I heard a meow coming from the black tom cat that replaced Fang.

"No, duh," he muttered, not looking at me. "How long did it take her to figure _that _out?" He frowned. A kitty frown, not a human frown, which, to me, looked weird. His nose twitched and wrinkled for a moment, looking away from Iggy, who wasn't listening to a word he'd said.

The breeze shifted in the field we were in, blowing the flock's scent towards me. The Gasman smelt bad, as usual, but there was something other than that. It made my fur stand. Huh? What the heck was that? I've never smelled that before, and I didn't exactly like it.

But I knew what it was by cat-instinct.

"NUDGE!" I yelled at the top of my genetically-enhanced lungs. It hadn't even been three hours since we woke up as cats, but I didn't think I could stand it much longer. "Nudge, stop being in heat." A flicker of movement caught attention. "Iggy! Stop licking yourself!" I shouted at the gray, striped tom.

Ig stopped, his tongue still out of his mouth. "Uh…"

I made a gagging face, hunching my wings. While my flock laughed at Iggy, I noticed the whites of Total's eyes showing, flickering from bird-cat to bird-cat.

Angel straightened, her fur slowing rising as though she were charged with static electricity. "Um, Max?" she said cautiously, and I knew immediately that something was wrong.

I sat straight, frowning to myself. _Oh, for Patterson's sake. What now? _I thought irritably. "What is it?"

Angel's fur was standing erect now, and that was not the best sign in the world. Her ears folded back and she opened her jaws. "RUN!" she screamed.

Total turned his dark eyes on us. One word escaped his lips, and the way he said it made it very long. "Caaats." His face was serious and his eyes dark, set on one goal.

And then--all heck broke loose.

I unfurled my wings and did an up-and-away, yelling down at the others, "I knew he'd turn on us!"

Below me, the Gasman put his paws on Angel's head, using her as a step, before jumping into the air. She collapsed under his weight and yelled "Hey!" before going on a cursing spree.

Far, far down there, Fang had his back arched and his wings lifted. His tail curled over his back, fluffed up, and a furious hiss tore from his throat. Total growled, having no fear towards a cat that was smaller than him. Fang fluttered up, as Nudges called out "Fly for your life!"

I saw Iggy stop grooming himself, frozen in place, his body in a strange angle and his wings in an even stranger one. His ears were pricked, listening to the chaos around him. In an instant, he untwisted himself, bunched his muscles, and sprang up into the air. I winced a moment later when I heard a _thud _and saw that he'd smacked into the branch above him.

Ouch, now that's gotta hurt.

And then, we were all in the tree. I had no clue where I'd landed, but I didn't exactly care at the moment. At the base, Total was barking and snarling fiercely, in primitive-doggy mode. Total was yapping his butt off down there, standing on his hind legs. That was good way to get himself mauled.

Take a guess. Who'd maul him?


	2. Tree Hugging

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 2: Tree Hugging **

Iggy was crawling up onto the lowest branch, near the trunk of the tree, rubbing his head, a stream of swearwords followed by "That hurt!"

Fang was lying on the branch opposite of Ig, his tail still fluffy. His hind legs and tail hung off, out of Total's current reach, and his claws flexed on the bark in front of him, looking down at the little black Scottie.

Angel was above Fang, Nudge across from her, over Iggy, and the Gasman was above her. All three were looking down. Nudge was hissing, while the two youngest were trying to calm down, flatten their ruffled fur.

Total ran in circles under the tree. I swear, he was engraving a ring around this tree. What was he planning to do? Dig to China and let us fall through? He yapped the entire time, snarling and growling, going crazy because we were in the tree.

I looked down from where I was, and saw Fang looking around the nearest branches. He twitched an ear in confusion, and glanced back down, muttering, "I don't hear yelps, so she can't be down there…" Darn right. If I were down there, I'd be kicking that dog's butt!

He looked at Nudge. "Hey, where's Max?" he asked, twisting his head around to look at her.

No one answered, so he looked up the tree.

"I'm fine. I just had a _dog _try to eat me!" I hissed to myself, panting. My eyes were wide, my claws still out, and my fluffed up fur made me look like a big tan cloud. My legs wouldn't move, and I didn't really want them to, not at the moment.

Just then, the Gasman looked up, a smile on his cat-face. "Max? Are you a squirrel?" he asked cheerfully, mock clear as day in his voice.

It occurred to me then that I was clinging to the trunk of the tree, near the very top. The claws on what used to be my hands were gouging into the wood, my hind legs locking themselves so I wouldn't budge.

I turned my head to look down at the mocking little brat. "You try being stuck to a tree!" I bursted, claws digging even deeper. I tried to pull them out, but cursed when I failed. I was growling at myself, practically yowling.

Fang pushed himself into a sitting position, while I struggled to get free, and the rest of the flock cracked up at the fact that I was stuck to a tree. I think even Total chuckled.

"Sounds like someone's on it," I heard Fang mutter, and I thought, _I so am not, _defensively. "Are you really stuck?" he called up at me, sounding as though he were wishing I wasn't. Heck, _I _was wishing I wasn't. Then I heard him mutter something else, but didn't quit catch it over the shrieks of my words.

"Oh no! I'm just hanging here! Wanna join me?!" I yelled down at him, my fur bristling again.

Total kept on running around the tree, barking. I barely heard what Fang's remark was. "Yep. Definitely on it." Who was he to talk about girl stuff when he was guy?! It made me mad, but it wasn't really something I wanted to talk about with a guy.

Fang flapped up to me, and I felt his lean forelegs wrap around my chest. His back paws pressed against the bark, one of them pinching my fur. I knew this looked so, so, _sooo _utterly wrong that I didn't want to think about it.

"Dear God, who came up with this mess?" he grumbled, his words muffled against my shoulder as he tried to pry me off the tree. "Let go of the tree!" he ordered, his irritation thick.

"I'm stuck, bonehead! And get your foot off me!" I growled, unhooking my hind legs. My wings were flattened against my back in the most horrible way. Fang and I went on squabbling for a while longer.

"Um, what exactly is goin' on up there?" Iggy asked, and I felt my stomach churn. Everyone's eyes were on us, wondering what was up with the bizarre situation, and no doubt having wrong thoughts.

"Um, I have no clue?" Nudge said, making it a question.

Two minutes of struggle later, and Fang was _still _struggling to pull me from the tree.

"Unsheathe your claws!" he demanded.

I replied with, "How do I do that?!"

"Phuh! Cat fur…" he grumbled, spitting out a wad of light-brown fur.

"Leggo!" I yelled at him, feeling the tendons tearing in my paws.

"Why don't _you _leg go?" he retorted, flapping his wings harder. Geez, this was getting weird.

"I'm the one struck, nimrod!" I screamed at him. "Now _let go!" _

A painful _rip! _cut Fang off before he could even open his mouth again.

The bark lifted away from me, and my paws burned, the blood oozing into my fur. "Ow…" I said pitifully, hovering where I was. I winced when I saw the damage. My claws were ripped out. And it was all. His. Fault!

"I heard something rip. What was that?" he asked, sounding slightly concerned.

"Thanks a lot! Now I'm de-clawed!" I screamed at him, snarling. My lips drew back over my teeth, and my fur was standing on end again.

"Oops," he said, staring at me blankly, his eyes open a little more than usual.

"But I still have _teeth," _I said menacingly.

Fang gulped, knowing what was coming. "Major oops," he muttered, before I plowed into him.

He ended up limp on the branch under the Gasman, looking like a pelt hung over a fence. He was good as road kill. "Yeah," he rasped, when I was done with him, "she's on it." Then he passed out, and I had to face the other problem, only this time missing a few claws.


	3. CPT Has Nothing to Do with CPR

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 3: CPT--Has Nothing to do With CPR **

We shifted positions throughout our tree. Iggy stayed on his branch, only this time he was actually on it and not hanging from it. Fang was on the branch above Ig; and Gazzy above him, with Angel to his right. I perched on the opposite branch. Over Angel and the Gasman, Nudge was still growling at Total, who still barked at the base of the tree.

Things were still mixed up, but I figured we were fine up in the tree.

"Um, Max?" Angel asked. The last time she said that, it was something bad.

I scratched behind me ear while answering. Fleas are annoying. _Must have come from Total, _I decided. "Yeah, sweetie?" I replied with a question.

"Do you remember the special thing about Total?" she asked. Yet another question.

"You mean that he talks and is screaming 'cats' below us?" I asked. Yet _another _question to add to the list of questions.

As if on queue, Total yelled "Cats!" and started barking again.

Angel frowned up at me, an irritated look on her face. "Uh, no! I mean that he--"

I glanced down, hearing Fang groan. I saw Fang beginning to stir, and Total getting ready to jump. In a flash, I was on Angel and Gazzy's branch.

"It's alright, Angel. I've got it," I said, giving her a smile, as her eyes widened and she bounced away.

"And I'm takin' off!" she blurted, fluttering into the sky.

Throwing Gazzy over my shoulder and grabbing his tail the best I could without thumbs, I angled his rear downwards. "Beware of my secret weapon!" I yelled down. Then I turned my head and filled my lungs with air before it was tainted by Gazzy's skunky-stench. _Just hold your breath, Max, _I told myself.

The gagging sound sounded right by my face, not something I'd want to relive. I heard Fang sniff and them a "Phmph!" as he gagged.

I caught a glimpse of Fang's body heaving, and Total jumping on Ig's branch. Iggy flew away awkwardly, as Fang regurgitated his last meal.

"Oh, no," Total muttered, before I heard a _splat! _

I glanced down again, and saw that Total was precariously perched on the branch, wobbling. "Eew!" we both said at once, only Total meant it more. He was too grossed out to move, and I was sure he didn't want to. I could only imagine--against my will--what that must feel like. I pushed the thought out immediately, and focused on the other side of things.

"God! I love you, Gazzy!" I said, grinning, as I held him up by the armpits in front of me. His eyes were wide at my sudden gush. To be honest, I think he was a little creped out. Sometimes, his abilities--if you could call them that--came in handy. Especially when you had domino effects like that. Kitten farts, tom pukes, dog gets covered in barf.

"Ugh," Fang grumbled, whipping his muzzle with his arm. He didn't look good. But then again, who does when they just hurled?

Fang glared up at me, as I flew away, tossing the Gasman out into the air. I felt like chuckling, but didn't dare.


	4. Abandonment

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 4: Abandonment **

_Fang, you idiot! Get up here! _I thought franticly when he didn't move from his branch. Somehow, he didn't seem to get the memo that there was a dog-gone-primal down there. And I had a feeling he wasn't too happy about being used as a barf-bucket.

"Sir Barfs-a-lot!" I yelled down at Fang, hovering, my fur starting to prickle. "Get your furry butt up here!"

He staggered to his feet, lost his balance momentarily, but then regained it. He collected the spit in his mouth, still a little bloody from the fight with me, and spit it out at Total. Then he turned around and spread his wings, the light tingeing them slightly purple.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," he said wearily, then muttered, "Sheesh." He rolled the one eye that wasn't hidden by the tuft of fur that hung over his face.

Total jumped from the branch and wiped the spit out of his eyes. I almost smiled, thinking that he deserved that for trying to eat us. "Stupid cats," he grumbled, shaking his paw, slinging Fang-drool off it.

I glared down at his black form.

"Max, what about our stuff?" Iggy asked, breaking through the murmurs of the flock.

"Forget it. That stuff's his now," I growled, looking away in disgust. Total had always been such a civilized dog. And yet he was down there, taking a wiz on our backpacks. Well, it wasn't like we really needed clothes anyway. I mean, we were cats! What kind of cat wears pants and a shirt? Or socks and shoes? Still, it was a little uncomfortable to be in my birthday suit in front of the flock--in front of _anyone _really.

Angel was curled in a flying ball, her fluffy tail tucked between her legs.

"C'mon, let's go," I growled, disgust dripping.

"But…Celeste," Angel said pitifully, her blue eyes wide.

Over my shoulder, I saw Fang fly by her. "Celeste's bigger than us, Angel," he pointed out, using logic again. "And Total's changed," he added, when she looked at him, about to try mind control, I'm guessing.

Nudge was right behind me. Iggy followed after the Gasman. Fang flew up, silently, to my left. Angel was the last to follow.

"Bye-bye, Celeste," she said sadly, sounding so, so innocent it nearly broke my heart. "Goodbye, _Total," _she sneered, changing my feelings in an instant.

I frowned, gliding on an updraft. _This sucks, _I thought irritably. Why did weird and stupid stuff always have to happen to us? I mean--for cryin' out loud! We got turned into cats overnight! Not to mention we had wings already, which made us weird in the first place.


	5. Catfight

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 5: Catfight **

That day we just flew--far, far away. I hoped Total couldn't run super fast, 'cause that wouldn't be good. The flock hit the hay in some bushes, where it was warmer. I was on watch. So far, nothing but a few rodents, an owl, and some bats. And then it became all too silent. A little ways off, I could hear the breathing of the flock.

_Watch is so boring, _I thought for the millionth time.

_Yes. You can emphasize that. _

What a way to snap me out of my tranquil mood. _Ah, so the all-knowing Voice is still with me--even as a cat! _I thought with annoyance.

_Apparently so, _my Voice replied.

A thought came to me. I lifted my head in curiosity. _So what now? _I asked. _Why are we cats? _

The Voice took a moment. A minute passed, and I began to expect that it wasn't going to answer that. But is surprises me sometimes. Probably once in every billion questions I ask, it answers. This was one of those times.

_I have a feeling you that you wouldn't believe me if I said cats took over the world. Am I right? _

"Yep," I mumbled. While I was thinking about the possibility of me staying a cat and cats ruling the world, I heard something behind me. It was in the wrong direction for any of the flock to be coming from, unless they were looking for the litterbox or something.

Slowly and cautiously, I got to my feet. "Do me a favor and shut up. Okay?" I whispered, sounding as though I were talking to myself.

_Sure thing. _

I rolled my eyes at his/her short reply. My ears pricked. That wasn't a mouse. Maybe a squirrel, but they don't normally come out at night, do they? Probably a raccoon or something, it sure wasn't a skunk. But they way it smelled…it was a little, tiny bit familiar.

As soon as I peered around the edge of the bush, a furious yowl split the air. Two wild, green eyes burned into my pelt. Claws lashed out at my face. I heard someone gasp, "What the heck?!" And then I realized it was me. The feral cat plowed into me, knocking me over. In the moonlight, we both looked silver, but I think she was actually gray or something.

Yowls and screeched ripped through the air as we tore at each other's throats. Fur was flying, and a bit of blood was splattered. It was good thing my claws miraculously grew back, other wise this would have been kind of hard. Even though she seemed to know a lot more about catfighting, I knew more about street fighting. But trying to punch with a paw doesn't always work, so don't try to win a battle with that strategy. So I did my best to mimic her moves, learning how to fight a cat as a cat, while simultaneously having a smarter, been-a-cat-longer cat trying to rip my guts out.

With multiple scratches, I finally pinned her down. My paw was on her throat and a snarl was on my face. She looked up at me pitifully.

"Who the heck do you think you are?" I snarled in her face. Wide, frightened eyes stared back up at me.

_Easy, Maximum, _said the Voice.

_Since when has _anything _been easy? _I shot back.

"I-I'm Riverpaw," the cat under me gasped out.

Just then, I heard a familiar--and unwanted--voice yowl my name. God, could he have been any louder? Oh, yeah. The catfight probably woke the whole flock up.

I stepped off the cat, as Fang bursted from the bushes. "Get outta here, _Riverpaw," _I sneered, and she dashed away.

Fang skidded to a halt beside me. The cut on my cheek stung, and I could tell he glanced at the scratches by the flicker of white on the periphery of my vision.

"Max, what was that?" His voice was nearly impassive, but I caught a droplet of worry.

"Just some cat," I rasped out, feeling exhausted. "I'm beat. You take over."

Fang looked away as I walked slowly back to the others, my tail dragging. I glanced at my flock before plopping down on my side and closing my eyes. Note to self: If you've got wings, and you're in a fight, fly.


	6. Nightpony

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 6: Nightpony **

Hmm…dreamland. Pleasant yet disturbing. There were video-like images of past and dreamland-mush going through my brain while it was _supposed _to be shut down. An image of Fang, when he was human, swam through my unconscious, loopy mind. Only it was better because he was wearing a crooked smile. Another image of him, another crooked smile, went through my head, only he was a cat.

I was absolutely positive that I was smiling through the dream of memories. And there was that time at the beach when I'd been so worried and then so glad and then, out of nowhere, I kissed him…There were a ton of memories, each relating to Fang, no mater how unnerving they were. (Normally, this isn't something I'd admit.)

And then I was sure I was frowning in annoyance as my dream took a sharp twist that sent my mind reeling. Have you ever seen those My Little Ponies with the wings? And you know how they have something doodled onto their butt? Um, yeah, well…

I saw an image of Fang. As a My Little Pony. He had a red fang on his rear, and pointy wings; and it was all so horrible that I jerked myself awake.

My dream had gone to nightmare without the influence of anything but memories. Somewhere along the line, I must have seen My Little Pony commercial.

"Oh, my god!" I hissed loudly, my eyes wide. "My Little Pony Fang!" Who on Earth would by one of _those? _Fang might, but would be because he's full of himself.

"You're little what?" a dark voice asked.

A hiss was my immediate response. My head whipped around and I glared at Fang. My snarl almost instantly faded as I realized I'd just hissed at him. For a moment, I stared at him stupidly, putting on a deer-in-the-headlights face.

Wasn't he supposed to be on watch? Couldn't he have been on watch _somewhere else? _

"Oh, nothing, nothing," I said, snapping out of it, as he got up, and started walking towards me. I put on a smile, but mostly it was out of embarrassment, and it wanted to pull down at the corners instead of up.

_Very nice fake smile, _commented the Voice.

_It's not fake! _I objected, still grinning sheepishly. _It's one hundred percent sincere! _

"I don't wanna go…" Gazzy slurred in his sleep from behind me. It wasn't enough to distract me. Or Fang, for that matter.

"Anyway…What was that about me?" Fang asked. He stopped in front of me, looking me in the eyes with the only one of his that showed.

"Uhh…" was all I could get out.

Fang grunted before walking the final stride towards me. Then plopped down with a thud. "Alright. Don't answer," he muttered, at I rested my head on my arm, looking away from him. "So, has the Voice said anything useful?"

_God, that was humiliating, _I thought, my cheeks hot. Hopefully the fur covered what would have been two pink splotches. Really, nothing the Voice had told me had helped any, and wouldn't help, I was sure.

_I'm not going to give you any "fortune-cookie crap," but, why are you blushing? _the Voice rubbed in. What the?! Was that _mock _I heard?

My claws dug themselves into the grass, and my cheeks were even hotter now. I frowned, my ears back. "Am not!" I hissed at myself.

While I was fuming, I felt Fang's dark eye on me.

"Max? What's up?" he asked. Fang sure sounded concerned, now didn't he?

_Keep your head turned, Maximum, keep it turned, _I told myself. "Nothing, just the annoying Voice. And no, it hasn't said anything useful," I muttered, meaning for him to hear my words. I don't think that was very successful, but he shook his head and went back to watching the shrubs around us and the rest of the flock.

After a moment, I let myself lie my head back down. My cheeks were now only warm, and I hoped the Voice wouldn't make any uninvited visits in my head.

_Just go back to sleep, Max. Sleep is good, _I thought. I forced my eyes shut, trying not to frown too much. Which was hard. I felt Fang glance at me, but then I slipped into sleep. And here I thought I wouldn't get a wink of it!

Miracles do happen, people.


	7. Miss Cranky

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 7: Miss Cranky **

Gradually, giggles entered my consciousness. Giggles and murmurs and Nudge cracking up.

"Pst," I heard Iggy hiss. "Nudge, what's so funny?" he asked.

"You'd have to see it to believe it!" came Nudge's loud reply. It brought me a little further into wakefulness. Something was definitely going on. Then I realized there was something on me. My head part of me.

Slowly and groggily, I opened my eyes. But I couldn't only open one. _What the freak is in my eye? _I thought, then his scent drifted into my nose, and my fur started prickling. _Okay, I _knooow _he isn't sleeping on me. _

As I thought, I heard a chant from somewhere behind me.

"Fang and Ma-ax, sittin' in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G!" Nudge giggled.

The Gasman continued the chant. "First comes love."

"Second comes marriage," said Angel. Oh, God.

"Then comes baby in a baby carriage!" Iggy said impatiently, then added quickly, "Now will someone tell me what's goin' on?"

And that was when a growl made its way past my clenched teeth. "Fang…" I snarled slowly, "since when did I give you permission to _sleep _on my _head?!" _

He jolted into awareness with an, "Uh-oh."

I pushed him off, removing his paw from my eye doing so. All claws with a thirst to for his blood (for sleeping on me _and _falling asleep on his watch), I launched myself at him. Yowls, hisses, and screeches rang through the flock's little clearing. I could imagine the others watching the queen-and-tom fight vividly, partly because I glimpsed them over Fang's shoulder.

Iggy's ears were pricked, listening to the brawl in front of him. _It would be great if I still had sight, _he thought, imaging the two ripping each other's throats out. Max seemed pretty mad, but for what? What was everyone else giggling about? No one told him, so he just braced himself to spring out of the way incase the fight came any closer.

"Max woke up, huh?" he asked Nudge.

Nudge winced in sympathy for Fang as she saw Max lash her claws at his face. _That had to hurt, _she thought, sighing.

"Yeah…Cute while it lasted, though!" she replied, putting fake enthusiasm into the words. Well, it _was _cute. Or, rather, _had _been. No way Max was going to let Fang get away with that.

"I need some popcorn!" the Gasman said, his forepaws on his cheeks. He was lounging just as he would if he were human, which he wasn't. He waved his tail high in the air, as his sister rooted for Max, hopping from foot to foot, nearly loosing her balance.

Moments later, the fight seemed to be taking a serious turn.

"Hey, Iggy, why don't you breakup the catfight before Max kills Fang?" she asked, starting at the pelts swirling around one another.

Iggy's sightless eyes went wide. An unbelieving look had a solid hold on his expression. "Are you crazy?!" he exclaimed. "Max'll kill _me! _And what kind of excuse is that? I'm _blind _if you haven't noticed!"

Nudge frowned at him. That wimp. On the other paw, that was a catfight Nudge didn't want to be part of…

He flung himself at Max. She dodged, flying three feet in the air, then came down hard on his back. Before he could scrabble to his feet, her teeth were clamped down on his scruff. GOD!!! What was up with here lately?!

"Somebody help, already!" he screeched, as she shook her head like a pit bull. It seemed as though Max was trying to rip a good-sized chunk out of him. It also seemed as though she was about to succeed. _What the freak did I do?! _Fang thought, trying to look behind him, at Max.

Jesus, she was strong!

"You're gonna be bald by the time I'm done with you!" she threatened, shaking her head from side to side. He saw Angel dancing around--as a cat--and imagined her having pompoms. _Oh, sure! Cheer for Max, but don't come stop her! _

Fang's claws flailed, slashing through the air uselessly.

When the beating was over, he felt like he'd just been used as her personally punching back. Or, actually, _clawing post _was more like it.

_Why's this happening to me? _Fang wondered, feeling like road kill for the second time in two days. "Maximum Cat is meaner than Maximum Ride," he groaned, seeing stars. "Ouch…"

Huh! I showed him! Teach him to use me as a pillow...What on Earth was he thinking, sleeping on my head? Hadn't he heard of personal space?

I walked away from his mangled, scruffy form, nose up, tail high. It was when I was trotting back over to the flock that the Voice popped up into my head.

_Max, _the Voice said, and I thought I heard it moan.

I stopped in my tracks, tucking my head against my fluffy chest, stifling a loud snarl. Instead I grimaced, and stopped the growls before they could even leave my throat.

_Great. Ruin my day even more, why don't ya? _I thought, directing it at the Voice.

_I'm such the spoil sport for you, aren't I? _the Voice asked.

_Ooh! _I thought, hoping he or she would get the sarcasm I was using. _You just figured that out? Don't feel bad. You do a terrific job at it! _

Before the Voice could say anything else, I started walking back to the flock. _Time to go back to leader-mode, _I told myself before calling out, "Alright, who started the tree thing?"

Angel's ears folded down, her eyes almost completely blue because the pupils were thin slits. She gulped. Gazzy didn't seem to be in the mood for popcorn anymore, he looked like he just wanted to take off before I launched an attack on him for just being there.

"It was Nudge!" Iggy was quick to point his claw--?--at her.

She grinned back at me, sidestepping away, getting ready to flee. "Eh-heh-heh," she laughed, her nervousness rolling off her in waves, reminding me of her fur pattern. Which was kinda wavy. Have you ever seen one of those cats with the curly fur? La Perm, was it? "Funny story, really…"

Before she could turn into the Nudge channel, I spoke up, looking as friendly a cat with missing chunks of fur could look. "Don't worry, Nudge, I'm not going to shred you," I said, smiling earnestly. "And, Ig, I heard your voice in the chorus, too. Nice one! Place the blame on someone else! You're a real trickster."

Although my face on the outside was cheerful and pleasant, I had my ears down on the inside, sighing in annoyance. I fought the urge to mutter, So childish, as Fang groaned behind me.


	8. Santa Fang

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 8: Santa Fang **

After spending three days as cats, we got a little bit anxious. We stayed in the forest (for a time anyways), trying to get our thoughts together. And then we got bored because all there was to do was sit around and listen to the Gasman on Replay.

And so now, we came up with an idea. That idea was to check out how normal people were getting along. What I mean is: if they were _still _normal.

So my flock and I emerged from the forest and found a house that was a good distance away from any others. It looked nothing like the place me and Fang checked out months ago, when we were at Anne's. You know--the one where Fang scared the heck out of those two druggies, and I found that picture of baby Gasman.

Nope. This was…well, a pretty-nice-but-not-fancy house. Unlike the E that made _our _old home, this was in the shape of an L. What was with people and building houses in the shapes of letters?! I mean, the next thing you know, you'll be seeing Q shaped houses! Or maybe B? The lawn had one of the big, puffy trees, which I sat in.

This, folks, is something you will not see every day. Maximum Ride. Sitting. Patiently. _Come out of that stupid house, you idiot, _I thought, nearly growling. Well, not totally patiently. But you get the point.

Angel and Gazzy sat on the roof of the house.

Iggy was behind the tree I was in, licking his paws. Strangely, he was better at catching mice than any of us. How screwed up is that?!

Nudge sat on the other side of the house, on the pickup parked in the driveway. Sheesh, could she have chosen a more out-in-the-open place to sit?

And last but not least, Fang was leaning against the house, looking at everything through one eye. He'd walked the perimeter earlier, and he and Nudge would check it again once the man inside was gone. Fang had to fly up to the roof twice because he let his shepherd out. Good thing he had wings.

I scowled at him, as he looked off towards the patch of forest we'd come from. I was easy to tell he was watching birds. Whether or not he wanted to eat them, I was sure. _Fang, you're so lazy, _I thought. I think not only his body had changed, but I think his attitude had, too. I mean, he hasn't really fought very well since (trust me, I've sparred with him enough to know). Oh, yeah. That's probably because _none _of us are used to being cats. Paws and claws instead of fists are pretty different.

The flutter of wings on the other side of the house made me lean forward. The man inside pulled the curtains closed. Nudge landed on the roof, and then I heard the front door wing open, then slam shut.

"They didn't see me, Max! Don't worry!" Nudge called, a smile on her face. Again, cat-smiles are weird, but I didn't say anything. The dog started barking, and she ran across the roof to the other side.

I felt like slapping myself in annoyance. My ear twitched instead. _That wasn't what I was worried about, _I thought, nearly groaning.

The truck pealed out, the barking dog in the back. For some reason, dogs seemed much more menacing then they had before. Of course, that was most likely because they a bunch-of-times bigger than me. I flew over and landed on the roof near Nudge when the man and his dog were gone.

"And open windows?" I asked.

Nudge sighed. Her wings dropped pitifully. "No," she said, sounding sad. I knew she'd perk up a bit in a minute, so I didn't bother comforting her.

"Alright, then," I said as if it were nothing. Although I really would have liked this to be done another way. Via window would have been nice. And door was out of the question, because, like, uh…no thumbs? I mean, sure, we got that little, um, claw-thing and the pawpad, but that was basically _useless! _"We'll take the chimney."

I opened my eyes to see Gazzy pointing at Angel, an overly-hyper look on his scruffy white face. "I vote we throw--I mean, Angel should go first!"

"Hey!" Angel said, her fur even fluffier than usual. She glared at her brother through narrowed eyes.

"We're not throwing Angel down the chimney," I said, rolling my eyes, which rested on Fang, who'd just landed behind me. "Fang's going down first," I added quickly.

"What?!" The sudden, disbelieving reply made me smirk. I could only imagine how much that would get on Fang's nerve. I'd used him as my clawing post (literally), and so now I was using him as my chimney sweep.

I looked over at him sassily. "What?" I said, an eyebrow lifted in amusement. "Afraid to get your fur dirty?" My voice was babying, and he growled at that. I flicked my tail, turning back to the chimney. "Get your furry butt down there, Santa Fang."

"Santa Fang" marched up beside me, while the rest of the flock chuckled. He used his black body to hide the gesture he gave me with his claws.

"Right back atcha, birdie," I hissed.

Fang shook his head as though he were trying to shake water off himself before jumping down the chimney. His yowl echoed.

"You make it okay?" I asked

The thud that came right after told me that the fall had to hurt. Why the freak didn't he fly? "Not really," he groaned.

Without any warning, I jumped in. I felt like Alice when she fell down that rabbit hole. My tail blew up in my face, and I pushed it out the way with a paw. "What out below!" I called. When I hit bottom, a cloud of ash was sent into the air.

When it cleared, I looked around. "Fang? Where'd you go?" I called out.

_Um, Max? _The Mysterious Voice. Wow.

_Hang on, _I thought to it. "Fa-ang?" I called.

The Voice didn't hang on. _Max, just look down, _said the Voice, and I thought I heard cold irritation dripping like melting icicles.

_Huh? Oh. _I got off Fang, who looked flattened. Hmm. Maybe he had bad luck because he was black? "Oops. Sorry, Fang," I said cheerfully, trotting away.

"No you're not," he croaked, his face in the soot.

I glanced over my shoulder. "Hey! You're right!" At that moment, Iggy landed on top of him, and I heard Fang wheeze.

"Sorry, dude," Ig apologized, and I stifled a loud laugh.


	9. The Way He Does

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 9: The Way He Does **

I sat and observed my new surroundings, while the rest of the flock came down the chimney one by one. Fang managed to scramble out of Gazzy's way just in time. A lot of good observing did when there was soot floating everywhere.

Geez, it was so much easier to see when I didn't have ash in my eyes! "And it is…" I said, waiting for a little bit more of the soot to settle, "an average-looking house." How disappointing. But, hey, I couldn't complain. There was bound to be something to snag in here.

"The find of a lifetime!" Iggy said with false glee. I shot him a scowl that went unnoticed by him.

Shaking my head and rolling my eyes, I thought, _Whatever. _Then I trotted off towards one of the two halls that lead out of the living room, giving commands like the bossy leader I am. "Iggy, you go with the Gasman. Angel, Nudge, you two team up. And, Fang, you might want to clean that soot off your pelt."

Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge scampered off ahead of me. Fang trudged along behind them, his now-gray head low. It was just too easy to start laughing at him right then, but I fought off the urge.

Halfway down the hall, a slit of light streamed through cracked open door. I stopped in front of it. "Hmm. An open door. Inviting," I muttered, then pushed my way inside. Hopefully, there wasn't going to be any traps waiting on the other side. But there wasn't. So that was all fine and dandy.

By my even newer surroundings, I was in--

"Yes!" I hissed to myself, tail up. "A girl's room! There should be something of interest in here…" Bed, a couple dressers, desk with a computer on it...yada, yada, yada. I hopped up on the dresser by the door. It was long and middle height.

Something shiny and silvery caught my attention right away. A CD player and a couple CDs was the only thing (besides me) on the dresser. I padded up to it and slid aside one of the CDs which was some homemade thing.

I cocked my head back in curiosity. "What the heck?" I murmured, holding the CD up with a claw. "Why's my name on this?" Curiosity got the better of me, and I put the CD in the silver CD player. "Eh, might as well check it out." Was this just a coincidence?

For comfort, I lied down, a foreleg making the headphones stand up. _Bleh…bleh…bleh, _I thought, skimming through the CD. A piano and or a guitar started playing, and then some guy saying "Oh, no. Oh, yeah." And the something about a kiss…

_I don't like where this is going, but it sounds so good, _I thought as the song went on to something about "your breath on my neck." I listened to it once, and then re-listened to it, humming along.

"…I'm naked, I can't fake it…" That seemed a little weird. The first verse or two were sweet, but that just threw it out of place. The more I thought about it, the more…I'm-not-going-to-say-it-here it seemed to be. My mind, being that of a fourteen-year-old mutant-girl, started putting the words together and finding the "eews" about the song. Geez, it sounded so dirty, and it made me want to laugh.

"Your kiss, your smile, your mind. You're sunlight in my eyes. I miss your breath on my neck. When we whisper in the night Didn't wanna hold you. Didn't wanna need you so bad. Didn't wanna wake up and find that I was falling so fast. Didn't wanna need you. Didn't wanna need anyone. Now look what you've done Now I can't go on without you. I'm naked, I can't fake it. I'm not that strong without you. Never thought I could love you the way I do. Your touch, your skin, can't believe the way you let me in. Don't rush tonight. I need you like the ocean needs the tide…"

I mean, it sounded dirty but sweet at the same time. Is that even _possible? _Those words sounded so gross once I thought about them, and "never thought I could want you the way I do," made me chuckle.

Before the song was over, it hit me. "Oh, my god, I just realized." Was this supposed to be…Fang…me… _What?! _

"Faaang," I called, smiling. "C'mere! I need to ask you something!"

"Just ask!" His voice was muffled, and I guessed he was probably on the sofa, cleaning himself and spitting out ash.

"Trust me, you'll regret it I do," I said, wishing he'd just get his furry butt over here before I decided to neuter him.

"I regret a lot of things," I heard him grumble, but at least he was closer. "But, fine, if it'll make you happy…"

His dusty head looked around the corner. I flicked my tail to get his attention. "What is it that couldn't wait till later?" Fang asked, looking at me though an icy eye.

_I'm so not gonna ask this, _I thought to myself. Thankfully, the Voice didn't pop in at that moment. And then…I blurted out my thoughts. "Do you love me the way this song says you do? Or does it mean you just wanna get in bed with me?"

Fang's flanks stopped moving, and it was clear that he was holding his breath, either thinking or stunned by my question. His pelt twitched, and I began to wonder what his answer really was. A growl rose in my throat as I frowned at him. He better not have been aiming for the second option, otherwise I _would _neuter him.


	10. Confusing

**Author's Note: This is the Maximum Ride fanfic I'm currently doing. It's totally random, and updates are pretty spaced apart due to the fact that I draw each chapter first. The link to the comic version (which is always the original version, by the way) is on my devART acount. I go by the name Nyctra on there, too, and you should find a link to page on my page in my jurnal.**

**Maximum Ride and characters belong to James Patterson, with the occasional merge from another story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter/Page 10 - Confusing… **

Either my paranoia or Fang's silence was making my fur prickle, and there was a good possibility that it was both. _I'm gonna be so mad if--, _I stopped that thought. "That better not mean number two, Fang," I growled, my claws scratching the wood dresser in confused anxiety.

And I wasn't the only one confused. By the look on Fang's face, he was still processing what I'd said. "What?" he asked unemotionally after a second.

Then alarm shot across his face, and it was really strange, you know, because Fang never shows any kind of emotion whatsoever. His tail was fluffed up and held between his legs (that was either from instinct or because he didn't want his you-know-what's ripped off), and he was shifting from foot to foot.

"What?! Max, no! Of course not!" he said franticly. Well, now, my question had clearly taken him by surprise. Oh, God, was that even an appropriate question? What if Angel was listening in on my thoughts?

That was out of my mind in half a millisecond. "Liar!" I yelled down at him, a paw on the CD player.

_Max, don't do it! _said the Voice. Oh, gee, what a nice time for it to pop up.

_Why should I listen to you? _I thought back, nearly snarling, then pushed the CD player off the dresser. Fang muttered something in confusion, and then yowled when it hit him on the head, followed by curses.

"Fang, I hate you!" I yelled down at him, my back arched.

I was about to spring out the door when the Voice said, _Max, you're overreacting. _

_Not _the best time. I frowned, my claws flexing as I thought, _I have enough reason to overreact! 1) I'm a cat! 2) Fang's apparently a perv, and 3) I have a bleeping _Voice _in my head!!! Don't you dare tell me I can't overreact! _If Fang wasn't seeing this, he'd probably think I was in a catfight. And, technically, I kinda was, considering I was fighting with something that was in me, and--coincidently--I was cat.

_You're not seeing things right, Maximum. Look at it from a different view. _

_What are you, a physiatrist? _I asked the Voice. _Or maybe my mother? And what _view?

I thought I heard the Voice sigh before saying, _Look at Fang, _with a hint of weary annoyance.

I was still frowning, but at least I had my eyes open. It was sort of a mocking thing, really, like, at the Voice. _What if I don't wanna? _I thought.

_Do it, _was the Voice's stern reply. My God, he sounded like a dad telling you to clean your room. Well, I didn't have a room to clean, and I didn't really want to look at Fang, so…

_No. _

_Stop being stubborn-- _

Before it could go on, I lifted my head defiantly, closing my eyes and putting on an arrogant look that I'd mastered. "Nope, not looking. I don't year you! La di da da…" I said outloud.

Wait a minute, where was I? Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be mad. I remember now! I turned my head, trying to put an angry look back on my face so I could glare down at him effectively. "Fang, I can't believe you…"

Oh, geez. He never looked so pitiful in his life, even when Ari had torn him up and he had to go to the hospital! The worried expression in his eyes made me sick.

"Max, I have no idea what you're talking about, but I didn't mean to make it sound like that!" he said, trying to defend himself, which wasn't working so well.

That was when I started putting things together. Look at it a different way? Fang…? Why was the Voice so persistent that I looked at him? What was with the freaky, un-Fang look on Fang's face? _Say what? _I thought, when I'd narrowed down the possibilities.

_I think you're getting it, Max, _said the Voice with an air of accomplishment. Point for you, Voice, way to go, don't even give me a _straight answer! _

_Well, that's…sweet…, _I thought unsurely. My face wasn't twisted into a snarl anymore, it was more like a strange mellow type of expression now. _And, Voice, do you have to say my name in ever sentence? _

_Sorry, habit, _it apologized shortly.

I jumped down to a startled Fang, who was ready to take off if I jumped at him. I didn't jump at him though, that would have totally thrown off this awkward situation which was "mellow." He seemed so skittish that if a flea jumped off him and he saw it, he'd bolt (possibly hitting the door on the way out, he-he).

Feeling embarrassed, I approached him at an angle, heading for the door. "Let's, uh, never talk about this again," I said, and felt my cheeks heating up. He looked at me as though he was too confused by my quick mood swings to say anything.

"Um…okay…" was all I got.

And the Voice just had to pop into my head before I turned away. In fact, I was having a conversation with it while I said my part of mine and Fang's conversation. _Max, you're blushing, _the Voice informed me.

_Am not, _I thought.

_Are to. _

_How the heck can a cat even blush? _I asked skeptically.

_No clue, but look in a mirror and you'll find an example, _it said matter-of-factly.

_Just shut up, _I thought, leaving.

As interesting as that had been, I didn't want to remember it for the rest of my life, and hated myself for asking such a stupid question in the first place.


	11. Rear Ended

**Everyone knows Max Ride and her flock belong to James Patterson, but I'm the insane idiot to turn them into cats! (,) And I'm sure you know where to find the comic version.**

**Chapter/Page 11 - Rear Ended **

Ears back in self-disgust, I padded back out the door, my head down. What was I thinking?! Why did I have to ask such a stupid question?

_Because you didn't think before you asked? _said the Voice, and it sounded as if it were rubbing it in. If it were possible, I would have shot it the bird, but then again, what good would it do?

_I wasn't asking you! _I snapped mentally, then went back to my thoughts. Geez, that was something that I'd never live down if the flock found out. I mean-- _eew! _How could I even think like that? I was supposed to save the world, and blah, blah, blah, not think about nasty things. I shuddered, hoping nothing would end up like that between me and my friend. Hey, _friend. _Not boyfriend. Or, actually now, tomfriend. Whaitaminute!!! What I am I thinking now!

_Get it out of your head, _I told myself. Think of something else, gotta think of something else. And then I did think of something else: _Hey…Where're the others? _

Oh, crap, I hope Angel's not telling them about what just happened. I began to turn around in the door, heading for the other end of the hall, when I heard Iggy's yowl.

"_Yowch! _That hurt! Get it away from me!" he screamed, and I wondered if it could have broken his voice box. Hmm, I'd probably like a broken voice box, if it would make the Voice shut up once and for all.

By his second statement, I'd yelled out his name, ready to dash off in his direction. I looked like a startled cat. Oh, yeah, I was a startled cat. A startled cat with wings held in a crooked angle above me, the feathers prickling.

There was the pounding of paws behind me, and Fang's mew. (He sounded weird when he made mewing sounds instead of yowls, or talking normally, because his voice was pretty high pitch, and it normally made me laugh.) "Max! What--" He didn't have time to finish what he was saying, because I heard claws digging into the ground, a thump, and then something hitting me in the--you guessed it--butt.

If it was possible for my head to be raised any higher, I did it. And believe it or not, I actually yelped. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed, as he scrambled back away from me with a "Whoa!" And again believe it or not, he had emotion in his tone, and it was surprise. I could tell he didn't expect to come running out the door only to run into my butt!

I was sooo going to have a little talk with him later about that.

But me being my short-tempered cat-self, I whirled around and jumped on him, my claws sheathed. Yeah, I know, you were probably expecting them to be unsheathed. Too bad. Paw on his throat, I growled/hissed, _"That, _Fang, was a _violation _of _personal space." _

I stared down at him, growling, for a moment before the Voice chimed in. _Max, don't you think you should go see what's happening to Iggy? _

_Oh, yeah, _I replied, hearing the girls giggling somewhere down the hall.

I backed away from Fang, looking as if nothing had happened, as if I hadn't just pinned him down, asked him an extremely personal question, or threw a CD player on his head. I'd grin about that last part later. "Come on, Fang, let's go see what they're up to," I said drearily. Then I added to myself, _And this time, I'm keeping my tail down. _

"Um, just a question--you're not gonna kill me, are you?" Fang called to me, as I walked away. Somehow, I sensed real worry from him. What would make him think I'd do that? Oh, yeah, that's right, I've been taking all my anger out on him lately. Oops.

"Does it look like I'm killing you?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to see him lying on his side in the middle of the hallway.

_That's a good girl, Max, _said the Voice like I was his or hers little puppy-dog-going-through-"sit"-training. I half expected the Voice to toss me a chew toy out of nowhere.

_Will you shut up already? _I practically snarled.


	12. Strange Behavior

**Go back and read my other comment! , - annoyed Owlie**

**Chapter/Page 12 - Strange Behavior **

Head low and slightly annoyed by the fact that Fang and I always seemed to have an… _awkward _time whenever we were together. I almost felt sorry for that lump of fur, walking around, prone to my recently-acquired bad temper. I'd given Iggy a thwack on the head once or twice, but that was because he kept cleaning himself. Ugh. Nasty toms…

Fang trotted up next to me, just as I tried to keep an uneasy tremor from rippling my pelt. His flank was a good three inches from mine, and our paws moved swiftly, but unrushed, over the carpeted hallway. After what had just happened, I was surprised he spoke. Aw, heck, I was surprised he even caught up with me, despite how much I tried to outpace him.

"So…" he began carefully, "you're not going to attempt to cut off any of my male parts?" He sounded like he wanted to be sure, but why he thought I'd even try was beyond me.

I grimaced as my stomach took an uncomfortable roll, but I kept my eyes away from him. I had to search for what to say. "No, but if you start showing off in tom ways, then maybe I will." If you've ever had a tom cat, you'll know what I mean, and if haven't, you should watch out for 'em.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the muscles in Fang's forelegs tense, manly the ones on his shoulders. His wings were ridged when he asked something else, deciding to hover on the subject. "Are you sure about that?" he asked trying to look away so I wouldn't see his face.

"Yes," I said, exhaling loudly, "I am sure." And then I thought to myself, half expecting the Voice to reply, _Sheesh, of times for him to be Mr. Chats-a-lot! _At the end of the hall, I heard Iggy yelling swears at the others. My eyes were fixed on the doorway, hating my paws for being so slow.

And then my sight of the lower half was blocked out by a thin, jet-black body. I looked at Fang, an eyebrow lifted and an eyebrow pulled down in curiosity and utter confusion.

"Max, I think you should know something," Fang said, his tone and eye (I'd tried getting him to cut off the tuft, but he wouldn't listen) earnest. Look at the sentence again, and this time don't read the whole thing.

My return gaze was skeptical. _Yeah, _I thought. _Like what's going on with Iggy. _This certainly was a slow walk to the end of the hall, and a long day too, even though it's just past noon. "And I think I know you're blocking my way," I replied, about to jump over him as Iggy hissed and Angel giggled.

Fang tried to stand straight, tried to muster up some confidence or whatever he was about to tell me. I'm talking about the kid who sees Erasers as fridges with wings and imagines himself as a ballerina. Of all things he could have said, he could only manage to repeat words. So you can laugh, I'll throw in what he stammered incoherently:

"I just think..." That didn't seem to be a beginning that worked for him, so he moved to another. "I think…" Not much different, Kitty Boy. "Max, I think…" Holy freaking God! How many times did he have to start over?!

If I wasn't so creped out by how un-Fang this was, I'd be cracking up. Or backing away slowly, hoping he wasn't crazy. All I knew was that this was totally not Fang; Fang wouldn't go making a fool of himself like this. And Fang would just spit it out, wouldn't he?

Fang tried several times, and managed to find something that worked for him. His voice regained its confidence, and he held his head higher than he had a moment ago. Just when he said my name clearly, Iggy came barreling down the hall, screaming, "Jesus, help me!"

What had the girls been doing to him? I'd almost forgotten Iggy was being tortured.

Half a second later, Nudge came around the corner, sprinting after him. She called something to him, but it was muted by the small object in her mouth.

Fang immediately lost interest in what I was doing, probably so I wouldn't see his face (again), and looked at Nudge and Iggy. Only a couple feet in front of us, brown crashed into silver and the two tumbled to the ground; Iggy snarling and hissing fiercely, Nudge laughing happily, her butt up in the air and tail swaying, a little fluffed up from having just pelted after the silver tom pinned under her.

"Is Nudge…?" Fang said, just as confused as I was.

I knew what he meant, and almost shoved him for it. Sicko. "Fang, don't even think like that," I said, unable to tear my eyes away from the weird scene before us. It was a tangle of brown and silver fur and limbs. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason Nudge just glomped Iggy."

"Get off me!" Iggy growled at Nudge, who didn't seem to've heard his demand. His claws were unsheathed and tearing at the carpet. There was defiantly going to be some evidence of us being here.

Nudge was exclaiming assurances to him over his growls and hisses and snarls. "Just hold still! It'll be over in a second! I promise you! It won't hurt a bit!" She went on with assuring him.

Gazzy was running up to the skirmish, a gleeful expression on his white face. Angel, looking like a walking snow ball, was padding up, too. Her tail was up, so I guessed she was happy with whatever was going on.

"Maaax!" she called, sounding like a little sister tattletaling. "Nudge is trying to give Iggy a piercing!"

Piercing? What piercing? Oh, yeah, he got that earring when we were in New York, I remember now. Did he still have that thing? Or had it disappeared when we'd all been magically turned into fluffy kitty cats?

_Is that what's going on? _I wondered, a little dumbfounded.

The Voice sounded disgusted when it said, _What did you think? _

I was about to explain what I thought, thought better of it, and replied with: _Don't you already know? _

I swear, I thought I heard it sigh in annoyance as I sat down to watch the show. Iggy and Nudge were meowing at each other, hissing and growling, too.

"Hold still and I'll get it on!…Stop squirming!"

"Heeelp!" Iggy made the call last as long as his enhanced lungs could carry the single word.

They batted at each other a little bit, just for a moment, and then Nudge had Iggy pinned under her again, tail wrapped around his, paw in his face, a rear leg trying to hold him down better.

"Stop biting my ear!" he wined, yowling.

"I'm not biting it!" Nudge mumbled, her mouth full of…well, Iggy's ear. I could only imagine how hard it must be to get an earring on a cat's ear with only your mouth.

"Yes you are, I can feel it!" Iggy was close to tears now, not knowing what the heck Nudge was trying to do, just wanting to escape the torture. Compared to the other things we've all been through, this was nothing, so I didn't break up the quarrel.

"Stop being such a wimp, Ig!" Nudge said, and Iggy started spouting curses as she worked on getting the silver loop in his ear.

I saw with my tail neatly over my paws, watching this funny scene happen before my eyes. Poor Iggy. But, ha ha at the same time. "Now _this _is entertaining!" I said, knowing that Fang would understand. Gazzy had been singing things by Weird Al for the past few days, and it was getting annoying. Not that we didn't live with that every day.

Fang sighed. I glanced at him to see his shoulders slumped and his head down. His tail wasn't curled around his paws, and he looked more like a lazy black cat. "More like degrading," he muttered, not expecting me to hear. I had a feeling there more to his gloomy attitude than the sympathy for Iggy.

"There. All done," Nudge said, stepping off Iggy, who was quite ruffled up. Her curly whiskers twitched in delight at what she'd done to the tom. "You know, Iggy, it would've been easier to do that if you weren't all trying to rip my fur out!"

Gazzy spoke up before she could go on. "Doesn't look half bad!" he said, approaching the ball of fur lying, defeated, on the floor.

Iggy grumbled something rude that made me waste a frown on him.

"Well…Gazzy likes it," I said, looking over at Fang. I put on as innocent of a face I could and smiled.

He looked back at me, his only visible eye narrowing. I figured pointy cat teeth weren't the best thing to see in a smile and covered them up almost the instant he gave me that dirty look. "'Cause he was in on it," he muttered.

Something was wrong with Fang, I just knew it. Something had to be troubling that black furball, why else would he be acting so weird? Maybe it was my question…and maybe not.

Instead of asking about it like the sensitive girl I could have turned out as, I shrugged it off, and laughed with the others at Iggy's new piercing.


	13. It Just Gets Weirder and Weirder

**This is the last chapter I have written. I have Page 14 almost done, but my tablet pen is missing and I'm having a block. So sorry, this'll be the last one for a while!**

**Maximum Ride and her flock belong to James Patterson.**

**Chapter/Page 13 - It Just Gets Weirder and Weirder **

Poor, poor Iggy. He looked traumatized as he muttered, "I...have been..._violated,"_ and shivered. The Gasman was right; it didn't look half bad on him. Actually, I'd almost forgotten that he'd gotten his ear pierced that time we were in New York

Sadly, for me, the Voice couldn't stay out of it.

_Max…? _

It waited for my answer, which didn't come because I was too busy laughing.

_Max, would you mind...coming outside? _it asked. The Voice waited a moment longer before putting some actual authority into, well, its voice. _Please, Maximum, listen to me! _Only it sounded a bit frantic.

I wiped away the water that had accumulated at my eyes with a paw, thinking to the Voice, _It's gonna have to wait. _

Iggy growling caught my attention, and I sat with Fang, waiting to see what happened. "I am sooo going to get you for this, Nudge," Iggy snarled, his claws unsheathing.

Nudge put on a sweet face and started backing up cautiously. "Eh-heh-heh," she faked-laughed, grinning guiltily. Not a good sign. "Um...It was all Gazzy's idea?" I felt like hitting her on the head with a paw, but figured Iggy would take care of that for me.

As soon as she mentioned his name, the Gasman blurted out, "What the?!" He sounded confused, and it was either an act or he knew Nudge was trying to blame it on him.

"No offence, Nudge," Angel said sweetly, "but I don't even have to read your mind to tell you're lying." Way to go, girl, rat out your own gender!

Nudge was sneaking away, leaving a furious Iggy to an innocent Gazzy. The small white tom was just lying there, stupefied.

The Voice popped into my head again, annoying me. Again.

_Max, come outside now! Oh, no, the bus is coming... _

It _could _be that the bus coming was a trick, but it also might actually be coming.

_Alright! _I replied. _I give up, you persistent little brain-invader. What do you want, Voice? _

_Youch! Help me!!! _It was almost as if I could hear the scream.

Youch? Huh? "What the heck?" I muttered. _How's the Voice know a bus is coming? _Talk about confusing.

"Max, what is it?" Fang asked, while I just sat there trying to think. "What about a--?"

He didn't have time to finish what he was saying. I cut him off with, "The bus is coming." I think his no-emotion thing had rubbed off on me.

"What?" Fang sounded just as confused as I was.

I turned my head to him, bristling. "I said, 'The bus. Is coming!" I growled at him. Even if the bus wasn't coming, we should get out of here before it _did _come.

I stood up and took command of my flock. "Hey! Quit fighting!" I called over the yowls. "We've got to get out of here _now!" _

Gazzy yowled and tried to yank his ear away from Iggy, who had chomped down on it. One of the silver tabby's paws on Nudge's head, holding her down. Basically, it was Ig's decision whether they listened to me or not.

That really ruffled my fur. "Hey!" I snarled, louder. "I said stop! The school bus is coming, we've got to go!"

Fang was already walking away as I spoke, but it may have been because he'd gotten enough bruises from me recently to not follow my orders.

The catfight broke up. Gazzy waited for Iggy and Nudge, both bigger than him, to get several paces down the hall before he got up.

"Go on, move it," I said, watching the two cats pass. "Up the chimney!"

Nudge had a wing sprawled over Iggy, who was just glaring on ahead, possibly feeling useless because of her gesture. "Sorry, Iggy, but you, like already had a piercing there, so I thought, why not make use of it? At least it looks good on you, or at least I think it does, I think it makes you look really neat, silver on silver..." Nudge, being the chatterbox she is, went on with her apology, muttering things I couldn't--and didn't want to--hear at the moment.

Angel and Fang walked one either side of me, keeping pace. For such a small kitten, Angel could walk pretty fast.

_Max, hurry! _the Voice insisted, still sounding frantic.

_Hurry for what? _I snapped. _How do I know this isn't a trap? _

The Voice's tone turned into a whimper. _Oh, please, I really don't feel like being eaten! _

That was when I thought about the words the Voice had been choosing, figuring out what it was talking about.

Angel turned to me, not even paying attention to the fact that I'd stopped walking. "Max, I'm not sure how you're gonna take this," she said, "but I think Total's outside. Are you sure we should go out there?"

Well, that just made it better, didn't it?

Fang looked over at me too, only he noticed that I was distracted, and said, "This isn't really like you." His blue eye looked at me with uncertainty.

"Oh, my God, the Voice is outside," I muttered, frozen as it finally processed in my mind.

Without any warning at all, I shot forward, barreling past the Gasman.

"Move it or loose it!" I snarled, and snapped out my wings.

"Hey, watch it!" Nudge hissed, arching her back and sliding off to the side.

"Whoa!" Iggy's wide blue eyes looked up at where he suspected I was, but then I was flying past, leaving the surprised flock to follow after me

_I've got a few questions to ask, and I'll get the answers even if I have to beat whoever's been invading my brain! _I thought, and burst out off the door that led to the living room. In a flash, I was swooping up into the chimney, finding that there wasn't enough room for my wings. I struggled through, clawing my way up.

Outside, I could hear a familiar growl outside, and they were accompanied by barks. Total didn't bark, he'd actually forgotten how to bark. He must've remembered how, once he turned back to his primal instincts. _Yep, that's Total alright, _I thought.

Ticked off growls were rumbling through my throat as I came out of the top, soot in my eyes. I didn't care about the soot, I'd have time to think about uncomfort later. _Where is he? _I thought, scanning the yard before me.

I spotted the small black dog. He might have been a small dog, but he was bigger than me. That was so wrong. "Hey, fleabag!" I called, hate dripping like venom on a snake's fangs.

Total stopped barking to glare at me. The only other being I saw was on the other side of the tree, panting, tail fluffy.

I crawled out all the way, ready to pounce. "That rat's mine!" I growled down at him, thinking, _That so cannot be what the Voice has been coming from, it can't be! _

Whatever that _rodent _was, it was the only other thing out here that could be the Voice. And I highly doubted it was Total, since, you know, he was the one trying to eat that thing.

The tiny tan creature looked up at me, a black mask on his face. Its mouth moved, but I couldn't tell if it was a scream of some sort or if it was trying to communicate with me, Total's snarls covered it up. It look relieved, but also as if it were about to crap its pants. If it had pants, that is. Fang clambered up onto the chimney the second I was airborne. "Max, what are you doing?" he exclaimed. The concern in his tone would has surprised me, but my mind was elsewhere.

I quickly called back, "Saving a pest!" There, that sums it up. _Why else would I be doing a nosedive toward a dog?! _I added to myself.

Three feet from the ground, I arched my back and veered up, pulling out of the dive. Total reared and snapped his jaws. I quickly shot a paw out to keep his teeth away from me, pushing his snout down. "Sorry, Total, not this time, not any time!" I snarled at him, and seriously felt like kicking him in the head for turning on us and hurting my baby's feelings the way he had.

I crouched on the ground for a millisecond, long enough to snag the rodent in my jaws. His ears lied back and terror entered his beady brown eyes.

"Hang on!" I muttered around him. I sprang into the air, and could only guess what a shock this must be for the rodent in my jaws.

He yelped, but then managed, "Thank you, Maximum, thank you!"

It knew my name?! And another thing, his voice was familiar, I'd heard it for years. _Jeb?! _I thought in disbelief, my eyes widening in utter and total shock.

He sighed. "Yes, it's me." He sure sounded ashamed.

I blinked, feeling as though I were seeing things and hearing things. Oh, God, was I going crazy? Then I wondered, _How's he know what I'm thinking? _

Oh. Right.


	14. If Cougars Could Roar

Hoot! I finished this not too long ago. Sorry for not posting it sooner. I've been a little distracted with my other writing and, of course, doing whatever I happen to be doing (usually chatting with peoples I don't know).

Currently working on Chapter 15, and it shouldn't take as much time as this one (C-14) did because 1) I'm not drawing it _all _out, just a few scenes, and 2) Photoshop is being a pain, so I've gone back to pencil drawing.

Adam, Lauren, and Cub are The-F-Key's. Check deviantART for him, he's got an awesome MR fanfic involving many animal-human mixes.

Max Ride and flock are James Patterson's, but you already know that.

And I am the one who turned them into kitty-cats. Mrow.

- Nyctra

p.s. The next Chapter will involve rabbits from MR Down, a fanfic imspired by this one, where the flock get turned into rabbits.

p.s.s Sorry for the long A/N!!

Another p.s.-thingy: Want somethin' to happen? Tell me. Anything at all (except kittens), I'll be glad to throw it in.

**Chapter/Page 14: If Cougars Could Roar **

Jeb was in for a quick Max-style ride. (Ride. Get it?) Once I was a good distance over the trees, I dropped through them and spat him out. The flock quickly alighted in the grass behind me. Jeb instantly rolled onto his side, his arms and legs held in front of him, clawed toes spread in defense.

I growled and lifted a paw, ready to swat him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't freaking skin you and pick my teeth with your bones, _rodent!" _I snarled. Wow. I could sound pretty evil, huh? For the first time ever, I had the upper hand.

Rambled excuses that I didn't give a claw about spilled from his tiny mouth. He didn't look entirely defenseless; he had those strong claws and those long sabers for fangs. "Max, please don't eat me!" he begged. Come to think of it, I _was _hungry. "I'm here because…because I was fired! And…I raised you! I'm a human, Max, just like you and the flock!"

_Eating me would be like cannibalism! _he added in my head, using the Voice.

Funny how things work out, isn't it? One moment, Total wants to eat him. The next, I swoop in, snatch Jeb, and now I'm the one making the threats. Just an observation.

"That's not a good enough reason, Jeb," I growled, fighting the feline/predator side of me I now had.

"Maximum, you can't be serious!" he said, sounding just like Zazu from _The Lion King _. How appropriate. Only I wasn't a lion. Or a _lioness, _for that matter.

"I _am _serious!" I snapped. "I'm a hungry cat, and you're a rodent."

Behind me, I could hear Iggy sniffing, and then he sounded closer, as if he was backing up slowly. Maybe he was, I didn't care. I didn't look and barely noticed him calling my name cautiously. Instead of acknowledging Ig, I glared over at Fang, who'd boldly padded up to me, head held high, his stance stiff.

"Max, you are _not _going to eat Jeb," he said darkly, and I got the impression he thought he could tell me what to do.

I growled at him. "That's what _you _think."

Fang took half a step toward me, his right eye glinting from behind the thick lock of fur that hung over it. "What is with you? You haven't been the same since… _this _happened." He made a slight gesture with his paw to us, meaning the, uh, fur and tails.

"Yeah? What's your point?" I asked bitterly.

"You get ticked-off at everything, for one. And two, you're trying to eat someone who was like a father—"

My paw sweeping across his face cut him off. A snarl ripped from my throat. "Jeb _is not _my father!" I snarled angrily, pulling my paw back to me. I could feel small chunks of fur—and something else—caught between my claws, and when I saw his face, I saw why there was more than fur caught there.

Fang looked at me with one crystal-blue eye. "Honestly, Max, you're acting more like a bitch than a cat," he said slowly, earning him another growl from me.

"Congratulations, Fang!" I growled, sarcasm dripping. "You just swore in front of the kids! Good for you!" I wondered how he'd take that.

He put on an equally bitter face while I scowled up at him. "You can beat on me all you want, but it isn't going to help our current situation," he growled in a hush-hush tone.

I tilted my head to the side, my ears still down in awkward angles. "And what _is _our current situation, Fang? I'd really love to know," I said, and thought, _Freak, why did I just say that? _

He came a step closer and growled in my face, "You just let the only guy who can help us get away."

My cat-eyebrows raised and my ears pricked. "What?" I exclaimed, just standing there. Then, irritated beyond sanity, I stalked away from him, not knowing what I was supposed to do.

Stupid rodent…Stupid Jeb…Stupid everything!

Angel, fluffier than normal, crept up to me, her belly low to the ground. She reached a paw out, stuttering, "M-m-m-ma—"

I couldn't lose my temper around her (even though I'd done it too may times to count), and I forced the growls that wanted to pass through my clenched teeth back down into my lungs. "Maple? Massachusetts? Spit it out already. What?"

Her wings were folded tightly against her sides, forming a kind of feathery heart-shape. If she were wearing pants, I'm sure she would have wet them by now. And my thinking that probably didn't help. "There's something up in the trees. Iggy smelt them first. They're all around us, Max!" she explained quickly, leaving me dumbfounded.

"Huh?" was what the look on my face told her, and then I looked up to the trees around us. There was nothing there that I could see, but wouldn't let myself believe that there was no danger. _What's stalking us? _I wondered, still looking up.

All of the flock grouped together. Fang sat down, and the Gasman snuck up between him and Angel. On Angel's other side, Nudge sat/stood/lied. It was hard to put a name on her position, but her tail was a bit curlier than usual. Iggy warily pushed his way between Fang and Gazzy, and Fang kept his wing over him. That only put a scowl on Ig's face.

"Not really stalking…more like hunting," Angel mewed, while the flock muttered.

Keeping my language mild for her sake, I thought, _Crap. That can't be good. _And then I thought, _Now would be a good time for the Voice to pop into my head, _in hopes that Jeb would say something. It was no wonder he'd taken off, though I think the danger I presented had momentarily passed.

Getting no reply, I looked up at the canopy and sniffed. A strange, strong scent reached my nostrils, but the owners of it were keeping it under control by staying mostly downwind. It was feline, but not… _kitty. _I had a bad, bad feeling about this.

"Why aren't we leaving? Wouldn't that be a _smart _idea?" Iggy asked, sitting down. He glared in my direction, clearly not liking the feeling of vulnerability.

"That's Max's call, Ig," Fang said, putting his wing back against his body. Was he just trying to get back on my good side? I didn't care right now. I just knew that something was up, and that we needed to find Jeb so we could scram.

"Yeah, what Fang said," I muttered, starting to walk way. "We can't leave until I find that rodent."

Gazzy sat up abruptly, his mouth gaping as he yowled. "But it's just a ferret!"

I stared blankly at him, tempted to let my jaw hang open. Thankfully, Fang spoke up. "It's not 'just a ferret,' Gazzy, it's Jeb. Haven't you been listening?"

Behind Angel, Nudge asked Ig, "What's up with the ferret anyway?"

Iggy replied with, "Who cares? It's lunch as far as I'm concerned." Just a moment ago, I'd been thinking the same thing.

"Whatever!" I blurted, determined that I was going to walk away for good. "Now, did anyone see which way he went?" And now I felt like the gullible dog that says, "Duh...which day did he go? Which way did he go?"

"I think he went that way," Fang said, pointing with his wing to his right.

Angel was looking back at Nudge; she had her brown wing spread over Iggy. "Cheer up, Mr. Grouch," she said in a babying voice, and Iggy let out a quiet growl.

"Don't touch me," he said quickly and bleakly, with that "touch me and you'll die" sort of attitude. He got up to walk away, but Nudge butted him with her head and started purring. Was she being… _flirty? _

It gave me a stupid and I idea and turned around to walk behind Fang. "Thank you, Fang," I said formally, and caught him glancing cautiously at me, probably expecting me to step on his tail or something. I purred as I brushed against his back, and just barely saw his eye widen a little bit.

Suddenly, when Nudge, Iggy, and Gaz walked off in one direction and I went in another, Angel jumped to her feet, a serious hiss making my fur prickle. She looked ticked. _"Max!" _she growled irritably, frowning like a little kid—I mean, kitten. "How come no one's paying attention to me?! I just said we're being—"

Just then, something massive and tan fell from the trees and landed where we'd just been standing. How the freak did I miss _that? _A cougar, gigantic compared to us, landed nimbly, and his tail followed after. "You're right, kitty. _You are," _he said in a deep voice.

Wait. Since when could cougars talk?

And since when did avian-human children get turned into butt-licking cats?

Whatever the answers were, they'd have to wait. I spun around, my ears back and my fur bristling. "I'll skin you alive if you touch my baby!" I growled fiercely. I spread my wings to try helping with the defensive/hostile display. Maybe this guy was like an elephant? I could only hope.

But, no. He showed absolutely no fear of a little cat growling threats at him. "How cute," he said, a smirk on his face. "A queen defending her kitten. Why don't you make this easier for us and—"

"Back away from Angel before I rip your freaking fur out," I snarled. _I lost her once. I'm not losing her again—and permanently, _I thought to myself.

Angel was too frightened to move. Her tail was fluffed up and standing straight in the air, along with her wings. She was, I donno, not even as big as his _paw. _

Amusement crossed the cougar's face and he chuckled. "Nice try. But…we've been runnin' around all day, and, well, we're hungry. It was nice listening to your chatter, though, boring as it was." I got a very, very, very, _very _bad feeling that he was utmost sincere about having us for lunch.

"M-max," Angel stuttered, staring up at the cougar, "help me!"

Nudge, Ig, and the Gasman clumped together behind me, and Fang crept up to my side. "Let's just get out of here before we're all eaten alive!" he begged quietly.

"Not without that freaking rodent," I growled back. "And if that tomcat tries eating Angel, I'm going to kill him." _What the heck is he thinking? Leave Angel here to be eaten? _I thought angrily, knowing he meant, "Let's get Angel and do a U-and-A."

From the bushes to the right, I heard something rustling, as though another big cat was coming. _Oh, crap. They _are _all around us! _I craned my neck and hissed at the bushes.

A much smaller cougar trotted up. She was still bigger than us, probably three or four times as big. Much smaller than the big guy, but much bigger than us. "I caught it, Adam!" she mumbled, a squirming wad of fur in her mouth. "Can I eat it now?"

"Oh, not again!" I heard Jeb complain.

Yet another cougar emerged. There was more of a grace to her step and she kind of bounced. There was also a spiky lock of fur hanging from her head and off to the right side of her face, sorta like Fang's. Hers was loose, though, and just seemed to fall that way. If I wasn't the cornered mouse at the moment, I'd be like, "Whoa! Cool mountain lion!"

Just like the other two, she could talk. "Not if he can help us figure out why we're stuck in these forms, I hope," she said bluntly, a slightly disgusted look on her face. For all I knew, it was distaste toward eating a rat or Gazzy's smell was offending her.

_Why do I feel like I remember these guys? It's got to be a coincidence that their voices are familiar, it's just got to be! _I thought, my head low. I was sizing up our enemy. So far, it looked like it would take at least two of each of us to take down any of the three, and even more for the big male. Like we were going to try _that _anytime soon!

"Max, be careful," Fang hissed when I turned to growl at the smallest cougar, the one holding Jeb.

"Put Jeb down before I decide to skin you too!" I threatened.

Fang looked almost worried, and I heard him mutter, "Lord, please tell me she's bluffing."

The oldest female cougar came up to the male's—Adam's side, an amused expression taking over her features. Her sparkling tan eyes looked down on me. "So… _this _is the great Maximum Ride? You didn't tell me she was, you know, a _cat." _There was too much humor in her voice for me to let it slide.

But before I could come up with a snappy comeback, Jeb spoke up. "Any time now, Max."

Angel, a streak of white, took a chance and darted away from the two giant cats, yowling my name. What was with everyone and saying my name? It felt…odd. Like I was getting too much attention. Angel came to a halt and nearly ran into my legs.

I licked her forehead, glad she was, at least, out from under the drooling cougars' grasps. "Oh, thank God!" I breathed between licks, as she purred and rubbed her face against me. Fang stuck his head in and sniffed her as if looking for something that could have contaminated her. He got his turn to lick her on the head, and if I wasn't busy, I would have pointed and laughed at him for licking something I'd just licked, even if that something was Angel.

Coming out of the crouch, I looked back up at the cougars. "I don't know what kind of problems you're having, and I really don't care. Just give us Jeb and we'll leave.

A humorous look crossed the big male's face, and he looked down at us with narrowed eyes and a smirk. "You've got to be censored kidding me," he muttered, making me hiss at the word he'd chosen. How could someone talk like that in front of Angel?! It was bad enough she was a little potty mouth!

It was then that Fang stepped over her and she crouched under him. As if he could protect her from giant cats! "Fork up the rat so we can be on our way!" he snarled he snarled loudly, and I could only wish I could see the sour look on his face.

_Rat? _the Voice screamed in my head, almost drowned out by the fluttering of wings as the others of the flock took flight.

Paying no attention to the Voice, I thought to myself, _Fang, you'd better know what you're doin'! _

Before Adam could reply, the smallest cougar opened her mouth and spoke up. "Hey, Adam! How 'bout McChickens and a side order of ferret?" she asked, dropping Jeb.

Try as he might, he did not land on his feet like a cat, though I'm sure he wished he was one. Jeb landed on his face, pretty much, his butt in the air and his tail curling over his back and dangling above his head. "Ouch!" he squeaked.

The female cougar snickered and covered her mouth with a paw to keep from laughing out loud. The male beside her had a look on his face that was a little screwy. One ear was up, the other down; his head was tilted in a kind of "Er…" expression, and one corner of his mouth was pulled down. "It's, uh, hard to do that when you release the prey," he said slowly.

While he was distracted and the female was laughing, I whirled around and launched myself for Jeb, hearing part of a small conversation between Fang and Angel. "You're a heavy kitten, Ange," Fang said from around her scruff.

"It's not my fault I'm fluffy!" Angel said defensively.

I ignored that, along with the cougars making a move, and wrenched Jeb from the ground, then snapped my wings out and lifted into the air.

Down below me was an earsplitting bellow, one I didn't understand. That was impossible! Those things were just like cats! _If a cougar could roar, _I though, glancing back, _I just heard one. _I'll tell you one thing: he _did not _sound happy.


	15. Diet Changing Dream

Okay, so, I'm happy

Okay, so, I'm happy. I just finished this earlier. -does happy dance- Lil touch of very mild FAX at the end, but, well, that's 'cause I'm a sap. lol Please review!

As requested by HazelRahHrairoo on DeviantART, I mentioned the rabbits. Supposedly, I inspired her to do MR Down. It's like MRcats, the flock gets turned into animals, but they're turned into rabbits in her story. ;-)

Needless to say, Maximum Ride and flock belong to James Patterson, though I turned them into kitties.

Ideas or requests for the story? Lemme know! I'll be glad to throw somethin' in. Rules: no kittens, no forever-kittyfied. A TLK scene will be thrown in here somewhere, I'm sure. And, yes, FAX is always acceptable. PLEASE! ASK ME TO DO SOMETHIN'! OTHER WISE I'LL HAVE NOTHIN'! I need to know what you wanna read, and this story's random.

- Nyctra

p.s. The next won't be up for a while; I'm working on three other stories at the moment. -is overloaded-

**Chapter 15: Diet-Changing Dream**

_You're a real pain, you know that?_ I thought as I flew away, a frown on my kitty-face. My whiskers blew back into my eyes uncomfortably, and made me squint now and then.

_I'm sorry I'm a pest to you,_ the Voice said, and I'll take a wild guess and say it was Jeb. I wanted to ask him why we were cats—and _how the heck _we were turned into cats over night—and why he was suddenly in the picture. I'd get my answers from him soon enough, because right now, Fang decided to call for me.

"Yo, Max!" was all it took for me to look down.

I glanced down at Fang, feeling a little sidetracked from me previous thoughts. "Uh…yeah?" I called back, more than a little at loss for words—hey, nothin' came into my head at that moment's notice.

He looked back up at me with a crystal blue eye—the other was still totally covered up from the lock of fur that insisted on hanging in his face, even when it was blown back. "Were those guys familiar to you?" he asked immediately, and I hoped I wasn't making gaga-eyes at him.

I looked away quickly, just in case. "No. Not at all. Why? Were they to you?" I said, and mentally slapped myself for how lame that was.

Fang flew a few feet under me, and we both held our wings out to our sides as we glided over an updraft. "Yeah, sorta…"

I laughed once. "You must be going crazy," I said, smiling a feline smile.

Jeb shuffled between my wings before bravely saying something that could possibly cost him his life—especially if he said it around me. "You two are—"

"Shut it, weasel," I growled, practically going cross-eyed by looking up at him; he was resting his head between my ears now. I couldn't see him, though, just knew he was there.

"What was that?" Fang called.

"Oh, nothing!" I called down, still trying to glare at Jeb. I imagined him with a smirk on his face, just smiling for no reason. _Lousy ferret…_I thought in irritation.

Fang and I tipped ourselves and joined the others, who were flying off in a clump. The Gasman flew at the back because he was having…well, he was having a bit of trouble, as always.

Nudge flew next to Iggy, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion—she'd been purring and acting like a cat since, er, since we were turned into cats! In other words, her best friend in the _whole wide world _right now was _Iggy, _who wasn't sure how to take her affection, so he just swatted her away. It was hilarious to see.

Angel flew back behind one of my wings, taking advantage of the help and using less energy. And in front of _me _was Fang, flying at the lead. Sometimes I felt lazy and flew off the draft of a flock member, _so what?_

Jeb kept his mouth shut and tried to hold in his stomach as we got higher in altitude. Personally, I was wondering how high he could go before passing out. Answer: just as high as all of us, though I didn't exactly try it out. That's just my hypothesis.

We flew _all day, _till the sun sank down, and then we decided it might be a good idea to go ahead and take up a roost for the night. Fang landed down below in the trees somewhere, and we could hardly see him in the dark shadows. His unusual glimmering blue eye caught my attention, and he nodded for me to come down.

I ungracefully flew down to the ground first, then dropped Jeb—who'd been taking a snooze totally not brought on by our altitude—in the grass. "All right, ride's over," I said, as he fell.

Jeb arched his back and looked up at me, his small daggers-for-teeth bared. I ignored him, walking around him and turning around to look up at my flock, who were all in the trees now. "It's safe. Come on down," I called up, hearing, smelling, and seeing nothing that could bring us harm.

Gazzy landed first and ran out of Angel's way. I tried my best to ignore the smell that threatened to _gag_ me as well as I'd ignored Jeb's surprised snarl. Didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.

Iggy landed in a crouch, and Nudge came down by his side, looking like a brown curly-furred angel kitty-cat. If she was graceful at landing, she could have pulled it off.

Fang hovered above the small clearing until everyone was landed and there was room. He was on his side, facing away from the rest of the flock, the moment he'd touched down.

_Fine, then, Mr. Lazy,_ I thought and looked over at Iggy, who stared at things pointlessly. Blind guy's turn for watch duty. "Iggy, you're first watch," I called. "Make sure Jeb doesn't go anywhere." Jeb gave me a small glare with his beady little bandit-eyes and curled up by a stump.

"Aye-aye, Miss Ride," Iggy said, saluting like a sailor, and Nudge and Angel giggled. Gazzy laughed and farted, and the flock cleared away from him.

I looked over my shoulder from my soft mossy patch before setting to work on grooming myself. The flock cooled their wings for a moment, and Iggy took his place up on the stump Jeb was crouched by. Angel slunk up to me on her belly, and I lied down and licked her fluffy white fur, wondering why I was _licking_ her.

"Angel, I'm so glad you're okay," I said between licks, as Nudge came over and plopped down, her back to us. By the stump, the guys made a wall around Jeb, ensuring that he couldn't get away without crawling over one of them or passing Iggy.

_I'm all right, Max,_ Angel thought, purring.

I returned the purr and put my paw up on her back to hold her. _I'm still glad,_ I thought, knowing she was listening in. Angel purred louder, so I knew she'd heard. Cutting through our _purr fest _was Nudge's snoring. How nice.

After quite a while of grooming soot from her fur, I put my paws on either side of Angel and rested my head on her. She was curled in a tight ball, making the perfect, angel-down-soft pillow an avian-girl could want, lying in the grass as a cat.

Lord, do you have to curse me with weird dreams? My Little Pony Fang was weird enough, now…_rabbits? _And I wasn't hunting them, as you might have guessed.

One bounded up a hill—it looked like I was in the hill's shadow and it was sunset. He stopped just before the top and stood on his hind legs. The lean rabbit looked down at me intelligently, with eyes resembling nothing of the rabbits' we'd recently seen.

A smaller rabbit, kind of scruffy, bounced up cautiously and looked at the fitter one. The rabbit on his hind legs moved his mouth, but I didn't hear any words. Somehow—somehow—I knew he was looking at me…whatever _me_ was.

Sudden, painful cramps covered my body and twisted muscle and bone. "Youch!" I shrieked in the dream, but it sounded like I had a stuffy nose. I could feel my face being contorted, and I wondered if this was what Erasers felt when they morphed.

I wriggled in pain and stretched out with my claws, which now couldn't really be sheathed and unsheathed. Whatever hand that had been shaping me let me go and threw me into the nightmare part of the dream.

Dark objects swirled around me, and I knew that they must be past lives.

_What the heck?_ I thought, looking up with unfamiliar rabbit-eyes. _Ghost rabbits?_ I stared up at the dark _figures,_ knowing now that they weren't objects. Oh, God, what was this? What was up with this nightmare? What did I do to deserve to have a nightmare like this?

The dark was washed away and replaced by a fiery red sunset, and against it was a frightening black rabbit head, floating there ominously, right in my face.

I scrabbled in my sleep and tossed and turned, I _know_ I did. Something cold pushed against my cheek as I clawed at the grass. "Max…Max!"

Suddenly and abruptly, my head snapped up and I—I came nose-to-nose with Fang. Hhyo…yeah…that, um…wasn't what I'd expected. The kitty-blush heated my cheeks again, and I was sure that if he couldn't see the pink through my fur, he could feel the heat. And he had to choose just now to try waking me up? And right there? Why couldn't he have pushed my back?

"What was up with all the growling?" he hissed under his breath as I scrambled to my feet.

I spread my damp wings to release some of the heat—I'd been sweating—and panted as I stared at the grass. "We…are…never going…to eat ra…rabbits again," I panted, and gulped, my mouth dry. "I-I need some water." And with that, I trotted past Fang in search of the nearest creek.


	16. CPR Has Nothing to Do with Total

Chapter 16: CPR—Has Nothing To Do With Total

THIS is what happens when I write at four in the morning! XD I risk lives, people. -grins evilly-

Thanks if ya review! Thanks if ya read! -hugs you randomly- I'm in a good mood, sorry. -brushes you off-

Um…yeah, if you want somethin' to happen, tell me. No kittens. TLK scene is planned, sorry it's not in this one, as I thought it would. Oops. -looks away-

I just thought the title would be appropriate…-looks away some more-

- Nyctra

p.s. Check my devART account for more MRcats stuff! Including the My Little Pony Fang! -is insane- (9,6)

**Chapter 16: CPR—Has Nothing To Do With Total**

Slipping away from the sleeping flock, I padded down a slope, at the bottom of which I could hear water trickling. I pushed through some bushes, and _voila! _There was a creak, its water fresh from melted snow. I crouched by the edge and lapped at it. I was getting used to this whole avian-cat deal. So far, it was a lot comfier than when we were avian-humans, probably because now we took up less space, so we felt fewer rocks.

I licked my chilled lips and sat up, listening to my surroundings calmly. Something snapped in the bushes behind me, and I whirled, my back arched, hoping it was just Fang or Iggy. A cat was growling threateningly, his amber eyes glinting in the dappled moonlight. I hissed and stepped along the edge of the creek, my wings held stiffly in the air in an automatic hope the tom would think I was too big and leave me alone.

Then I realized it wasn't an ordinary tom. A bobcat crept out of the shadows, closer to me. "What are you doin' in my territory, pussycat?" he growled, slowly coming closer and closer.

"Resting for the night, why else would I be in this dump?" I snarled, my ears flat to avoid having them ripped to shreds. My wings seemed to be locked, not allowing me to fly and just get away. It was probably best I didn't try flying away anyway; he could hook me while I was occupied with takeoff.

The bobcat hissed and came around me, knowing I was too frozen to do much of anything but growl and lash at him once in warning. My tail was whipping from side to side, and I was sitting back on my haunches. "You know what? I'm a little hungry. I could spend the rest of my night hunting for somethin' else, or…," he trailed off and shrugged his broad shoulders, "I could just eat what I have on my place."

"I'll give you a helping of me, all right," I snarled, and jumped into the air—not exactly flying—and kicked at his face. The bobcat jumped back, surprised, but then lurched forward, his claws unsheathed to flay me. I came down on his back, and jumped off him to streak down the creak.

Sure I'm fast, even as a cat I'm fast! But crawling over rocks and stumbling over roots really slowed me down. I had a feeling that the bobcat behind me had taken this path a lot—in fact I could smell his scent from where he'd walked up and down the creek many times—because he was running faster than me, gaining quickly.

Not long after I looked ahead again, the bobcat yowled. I was taken by surprise and fell in gravel, then scrabbled to my paws to see what was going on behind me. I was thankful and frightened for my flock at the same time. Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge had tackled the bobcat, and blood was being spattered on the ground and in the creek; I could see the faint red streaks in the water now.

Another snarl sounded close by, and I put my ears down quickly, thinking, _Not another!_ It _was_ another. This one was female, but she was still muscled and vicious. She was coming at me at an angle, driving me toward the bobcat that had flung Ig, Gaz, and Nudge off him and sent them flying to the branches.

The male and female bobcats were closing in on me. If _three_ of the flock couldn't take on just one, how the heck was I supposed to take on two? My wings were still locked at my sides, and I looked between the two furious cats frantically, backing up.

My foot slid off the edge of the rock I'd been back onto. Just below it was rapids; the creek opened up and got bigger a few feet away. Above me, the flock was screaming at me to fly, but I was too frozen with fear to, humiliated by myself but too frightened to think about that.

Then a black streak right in front of me shot through the bushes right when the bobcats were closing in. The tension broke, and a lean black cat rammed into me, pushing me back on my hind legs and then over the edge of the rock. I yowled and twisted, my wings opening in an attempt to catch the air, but before I knew what was up and what was down, cold water engulfed me and filled my mouth.

Teeth closed around my scruff and my head was pulled above the surface. I yowled, my eyes squinted and stinging from the water, but more water gushed into my mouth and I choked on it. From somewhere, the two bobcats were yowling at each other in anger, and the flock were screaming mine and Fang's names at the top of their lungs.

An undertow sucked me and Fang down and my eyes came open, the water still stinging them. Wow. The night sky from underwater sure is pretty. Too bad I was drowning.

After a moment of shock, I started struggling to reach the surface. But then the warm underside of Fang slide from my back and his teeth were no longer in my scruff. I looked down in horror to see Fang sinking, his mouth open and his eyes closed.

_Oh, crap!_ I thought. Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no! God, NO! My own lungs were filled with water, and I had no choice…

I went for breath.

The moment I reached the surface, I gagged on the water, already coughing it up. "Where are they? Where'd they go?" Nudge was shrieking.

I didn't get to listen to much of her frantic cries before Iggy called something to them. "What's that down there?" I looked up to see Iggy hovering above me.

"Fa—" I started gagging some more, coughing up more water as I tried to keep my head above the water. Iggy dived down before anyone could answer him, then yanked me up out of the water with his mouth. He got me moving, and I started paddling for shore.

"Where's Fang?! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Where is he? He hasn't come up yet!" Nudge yowled, then started licking at my face while I hacked up more water.

I pushed myself up abruptly and choked as I yowled his name. I trampled back into the water and stared out over the flat surface of the pond we'd been washed into. "FANG!" I screamed again and again, still choking. Angel and Nudge held me away from the water. "He's still in there! He's probably dead! Let go of me!" My concerned yowls turned into furious growls and I pushed Angel and Nudge away from me, diving back in.

_Oh, God, if you can hear me, please, please, please don't let it be too late!_ I begged, diving down deeper and deeper into the darkness. My paws reached branches first, but then the tip of something soft brushed my nose, and I knew it wasn't algae. As fast as I could, I felt from his tail to the rest of his body, and found his face. As hard as I tried, I couldn't see squat at the bottom of this dark pond, so I took a wild guess and grabbed what I hoped was the nape of his neck.

Using all my strength, I pulled his limp, lifeless body toward the moonlight that filtered down and faded a few feet into the water. My lungs were burning for air and salty tears were trying to poor from my eyes as I struggled.

Finally, my head broke the surface and I tried my best to keep Fang's above too by tilting my head back. I swam in one direction, the direction the flock had gasped in unison from. Slimy rocks met my paws and I quickly used them to my advantage and got Fang and I out of the water as soon as possible. I dropped him before either of us were fully out of the water, and collapsed beside his motionless body, sobs raking me as I choked.

I heaved myself to my paws again and leaned over Fang. "You can't be dead! You can't be!" I growled at him, cat-tears mixing with pond water on my cheeks.

"CPR?" a not-so-helpful ferret offered from the edge of the pond. I growled at Jeb and snapped at him when he tried approaching. "I _am _the doctor, aren't I?" I growled but looked back at Fang, not knowing what to do.

Nudge and Iggy pulled him onto his back. "Uh…you wanna do the honors, Max?" Iggy said.

I hissed the fact that I was going to have to do this—no one else wanted to—then took a deep lungful of air and blew into Fang's mouth, nicking my teeth on his and making me wince. After several lungfuls and a few angry hits to his chest, nothing happened. I crawled up onto him and stuck my face to his, a snarl shaking my lips like something in a cartoon. "Listen here, Mr. Unlucky! Wake up! Wake up! _Wake up!"_

Fang's body convulsed, and by some miracle…he woke up. I jumped backward and flinched when my paws were lapped by water, but kept my eyes on him as he rolled over and started coughing up water. Lots and lots of water. I pushed my face against his when he was done and a harsh, broken purr rumbled from me. "Fang, Fang, Fang, oh, Fang! I thought you were _dead! _I saw you sink! But now you're alive, and now I'm so, so glad! And now the whole flock is staring at me like I'm _Nudge!"_ I couldn't help but yowl the overexcited words joyfully.

A harsh, rasping purr tried to make its way from Fang too, and he head butted me back. "Nine lives, baby," he said, stealing a line from Diego.

When the others were done gawking at dead-a-moment-ago Fang, they started purring and head butting him too. He took the attention just as he would any other time—ignored everyone but Angel, who he licked on the head, his purr clearer and more sincere than when he'd been purring for the others.

I smiled and sat back, still shaken up and trembling from the cold. Jeb crawled up to my shoulders, just as the Voice chuckled in my head. _Don't mind me, but…if you were still human, would you have done that?_

_Cat-to-cat CPR isn't something I've ever tried before, and neither's normal CPR,_ I thought back, feeling my cheeks heat up. _Of course I would, I wouldn't let him die because of something so stupid!_

Jeb crawled up on my head and sighed. "So Fang _does_ show emotion?" he mused, watching Fang purr and groom Angel as she and the others worked on drying his pelt. He held his tail carefully out of the water. The tip of it still dripping wet.

"On occasion," I muttered, and shook, causing Jeb to fall off me. I left the rodent at the bushes and returned to the flock. Fang licked my side as I walked past him to sit by Angel, and I looked away quickly. "So. You almost killed yourself for me. Bet _you_ feel stupid," I said between licks, expecting him to kick me in the face with his hind paw.

"No, I feel more like I just drowned saving your sorry butt," he said calmly. Fang chose to stand on his own at that moment, but fell against Iggy. "It…is freezing…" I heard him mutter as the two boys—two tomcats—walked away slowly.

I couldn't help but smirk.


	17. Just Can't Feel the Love Tonight

Why can't I make Max lovable

Why can't I make Max lovable? Why?! -pulls hair out- Request for a scene? Tell me! I'll be glad to write it! I got a kitty-kiss in the list, but if you want something, (almost) anything at all, just tell me.

- Nyctra

**Chapter 17: Just Can't Feel the Love Tonight**

Even long after Fang and the others were snoring, I couldn't sleep, so I let Nudge off the hook and waited till she was out of it before I flew higher and landed behind Fang on his branch. His limbs were draped on either side of the branch, a foreleg under his head. His wings were spread and hanging on either side of him, water no longer rolling from his feathers, but still dripping at the tips.

I prodded his butt with my paw, seeing as I couldn't climb over him, and…well, I wanted to give him a bit of a spook just for the fun of it. He growled lightly in his sleep and tucked his face into his paw, muttering something incoherent. I unsheathed a claw and poked him.

Fang's ears pricked and he lifted his head, alert. I hissed out his name, and he swiveled his head around like an owl to see me, then yawned and pushed himself up, arching his back.

"Nice view," I muttered, closing my eyes and grimacing.

"You like it?" he said sleepily, turning around on the branch so he could see my scowl. "I was having a really nice dream involving _tuna, _thank you very much." He yawned again, showing his many sharp teeth. "What's so important you had to wake me up?"

I stared at him. "You're a chatterbox lately," I commented without realizing it. "I thought we could go for a walk…uh…in the trees." I felt like an utter moron.

Fang shrugged and jumped up to a higher branch. "Sure. Let's walk." He flicked his tail, and I jumped up and followed him.

Walking in the trees was like something you'd see on _Tarzan_ or something similar—but it was just a precaution to avoid being eaten. We circled around our tree, going further and further out with each branch. When the tree was still in sight, but we were overlooking the pond Fang and I had nearly drowned in, we sat side by side in silence.

As usual, Fang seemed perfectly content with not speaking, and usually I would have been completely fine with that. But after our oh-so-eventful day, there was a thick wall of awkwardness between us. Strangely, I wasn't growling at him for pushing me into the water and nearly killing both of us. I wasn't growling at all…for the moment at least.

"Why did you shove me?" I asked briskly, not looking at him. It was the first thing either of us said since we'd left the tree.

"Because if I didn't, I'd have to be the flock's leader. And I don't want to play as _mom _again. It sucks."

I huffed. "Well, you're like the dad. You know, for _Angel."_

Fang tapped my back with his tail. "You've gotta love little mind-reading six-year-olds," he said, shrugging, then he smirked at me. Fang was smiling? Not slyly, like he knew something I didn't, or making fun of me and cracking up. His tail ran down my back, then twined with mine, and my heart started beating that much faster.

Definitely blushing like a cat, I looked away, my ears folding back in uncertainty. "That water must've gotten to your brain, Fang, for you to admit that," I said, struggling not to say something incredibly stupid…Like I'm gonna tell you what!

Like a boa constrictor, his tail tightened around mine, and he sidestepped on the branch to scoot closer. My fur rose as though he was charged with electricity. Fang chuckled quietly, then stopped and looked out over the pond, moving his eyes away from me and giving me a chance to breathe without his piercing blue eyes clutching me. His tail was still wrapped tightly around mine, and I was beginning to wonder if he _meant_ to tether me to his side.

"About earlier," he began, and I started to wonder exactly what part about earlier—yesterday now, I guess—he was going to bring up. That song or his face in my butt? I almost shivered, remembering. He started rocking from side to side, as if he was kneading the branch.

Fang didn't say anything else for a long moment, but then he started talking. "Sorry for running into you…the second time not so much, but…" I was looking at him now, but he was still staring at the water. "And…sorry for this."

In a flash, he snapped out a wing and shoved me off the branch. I yowled in surprise, but before I could open my wings and flap, I hit the water.

"Cannon ball!"

I looked up, surprised by the megaunusual, playful yowl. "Huh?" Then I realized Fang had his legs tucked in, his tail curled against his stomach, and he was falling like a rock.

And he landed _right on me._

An annoyed growl was how I greeted him when we both emerged at the surface. His furry tuft was plastered back, both of his bright blue eyes showing. He grinned at me, then his hind paws kicked at my stomach gently. I used his kick to help push me toward shore. Whatever his plan was, it seemed to've backfired.

"Hey!" he called, paddling up to me faster than I'd thought he could. "I'm actually doing something other than sitting quietly, and you're running—swimming away?" He blocked my way, looking totally at home in the water, while I looked like a cat trying not to drown for the second time in one night.

"I'm not runn—swimming away, I'm getting out of this freezing cold water!" I snapped, about to just crawl over him to get to the dry rocks behind him. Fang pushed himself into me, pushing me further out into the water. _"Fang! _Quit it!" I growled, but then he was under again, and I looked around in surprise.

Oh, great. Was he drowning again? Aw, crap, what if he was?

After a moment, I started frantically looking around for his head to pop up, but there was no sign of the Lock Ness Fang. My heart started racing, and I stuck my head underwater to see if I could see him. But everything at the bottom of the pond was black, and if he was down there, there was no way I'd—

I was probably four feet under when two blue eyes snapped open right in front of my face, and I yowled, but the only thing that came from my mouth were precious air bubbles. He tapped his nose with mine, then pulled back and grinned as I paddled around and literally flew through the water to get to the air.

Gasping for breath, I emerged. My green eyes went wide when he slowly came up in front of me, just enough so his nose stuck out of the water like a snorkel and he could look at me teasingly through one eye. I put my ears back even more—I had water in my ears—and growled at him.

"What the heck were you doing down there?" I demanded. "I thought you were drowning _yet again!_ And…how…?" I suddenly realized something. How did Fang stay under so long without getting air? And why wasn't he even struggling for it?

Fang's response: squirting a mouthful of water in my face, getting the wet cat wetter. He threw his head back and laughed at the face I made, and it took him a moment of calming down—and _me_ a moment of trying not to maul him—before he looked at me again.

"I said I was sorry before I even did it," he chuckled, then swam close enough to lick my cheek with his bright pink tongue. "Lighten up, Max. Let's enjoy this carefree cat-thing while we can," he said, trying to change my thoughts.

"Uh, how 'bout you tell me how you stayed under there for so long without coming up for _air?" _I asked, still paddling to keep my head above water. "Maybe _then_ I'll lighten up."

He shrugged the best he could manage. "What if I said I could breathe underwater?" he said, then grinned when my jaw dropped.

"If you—if you could—and I _kissed_ you?" I yowled, totally mortified. There was probably steam coming from my cheeks; I could feel they were heated.

Fang looked at me oddly. "You what?" he said in a confused tone, then cracked up. If his cheeks weren't already wet with water, he would have wiped away his tears to keep them dry. "I was just messing with you," he said, noticing that my jaw was still dipped in the water. "I can hold my breath for a long time, I guess."

I shook my head, then started for shore, exhausted. By the time I was hauling myself through the grass back to the tree the flock was in, Fang was trotting after me. He licked my shoulder when he caught up. "I said I was sorry," he said sincerely, and I gave him a dirty look.

"I almost drowned earlier 'cause of you, and you just tried drowning me again. And you're saying you're _sorry?"_ I shook my head in astonishment. "Really, Fang. You think I'm gonna start purring and acting like Nudge when she's around Iggy?" I had a feeling that's what he was getting at.

We both stopped to give each other glares, but then Fang's loud purr broke the silence of the forest and he head butted me. "I'm not trying to get you to purr," he said between licks as he groomed me. I have to admit, this pampered feeling felt…good.

"_Ugh! _You are such a _suck-up!" _I complained as he licked my cheek affectionately, purring loudly. After a moment, I sighed and sat down. "Okay, fine. What are you tryin' to get from me?" I kept my eyes shut and my head down, not wanting to see how he was looking at me.

"I'm _trying_ to ensure that I get to keep my pelt."

"And you thought pushing me out of a tree would help?" I challenged, but suddenly broke out into a purr, not knowing what the heck I was doing. Hey, I couldn't help it! I ran my tongue over his tuft, still purring. _"You _are an _idiot, _Fang," I said, abruptly turning away to climb up the tree; my wings were still soaked and all this water would have kept me grounded anyway.

I sat on the first branch I got to that was well out of reach of the bobcats if they came back. Fang sat next to me. "You keepin' watch, or should I?" he asked, serious and no-funny-busyness again. If he would have sounded like he had a moment ago, I would have given him a wallop just for being un-Fang.

"I'll take it. You're not getting off guard duty later, though," I warned, flicking him with my tail.

Fang shrugged as if it were no big deal and stood. I tried not to look in his direction as he made his way carefully through the branches and up to Iggy and the Gasman. I could feel his blue eyes on _me,_ though, and it gave me the creeps.

The Voice chuckled in my head, and I tried not to show any signs of becoming one hundred percent more alert and two hundred percent more aggravated. I went stiff as a board when it spoke. _Did you have a nice swim?_

_Oh-ho, please! Just for once, can you not bug the heck out of me?_ I put my ears back and squinted, a whimper/groan somehow escaping me. I hoped Fang's ears were plugged up with water.

From the branches above me, I heard a certain _ferret_ snicker, and looked up at Jeb. He looked like he was fast asleep, curled up between Angel's paws. She had her head on him, and he looked nice and toasty with her thick fur as a blanket.

_You should try taking his advice, you know,_ the Voice said, but I still glared at Jeb. I knew it was talking about Fang.

I sat straight and huffed, my eyes closed. _I have a watch to keep,_ I thought after a moment. _Now leave me alone._ I also had a lot to think about…And I was also…very…tired…

Before I knew it, I was zonked out on the branch, barely aware of the damp form that had moved to my side, but perfectly aware of the purr that wasn't my own.


	18. Natural and Unnatural Enemies

Horray

Horray! I've been really-really busy lately, but I managed to write a good-sized Chapter for this, even with all the lame stuff that's been goin' on around the house! -grins like an idiot- I…I don't know what I was thinking…

Open for ideas. I'll try getting in some FAX, eventually, if I can ever make Max cuddly.

- Nyctra

p.s. XD I am so cruel to Fang…

**Chapter 18: Natural and Unnatural Enemies**

In the morning, Nudge just could not help but chant the K.I.S.S. tree song again. I gave her one good glare, and she shut her mouth. But the moment I turned around, she, the Gasman, and Iggy cracked up. Angel giggled, and Jeb snickered. Fang and I refused to look at each other.

"Max, I'm hungry," Angel complained, as I wiped sleep from my eyes. Ugh.

"I think we're _all_ hungry," Iggy said, stretching his forepaws out and clawing the branch. Yeah, so we were still in the tree? We felt like being a little lazy. Nothing was after us at the moment, so why be hasty?

I shook my head and followed Iggy's example. "Okay," I said, spreading my wings. "Let's go down and find some mice!" Angel and Nudge meowed in excitement. You know, instead of their squealing-giggles, the kind they get when they look forward to something tasty. I was tempted to yowl-meow, too, but I thought better of it.

Moments later, we were padding around in the marsh, getting our paws wet. After last night, I didn't want to take a bath any time soon, and that was surprising, considering we were normally filthy. Who doesn't like to feel _clean? _Quite a bit of the forest floor in this area was covered with water, and just walking through it was enough for me. I didn't want to go for another swim.

"Cool! A _salmon!" _Gazzy yowled in excitement. I looked over to see him crouching by the water, his paw lifted over it like he was about to paw at the fish. I stopped to gawk at him as his paw shot in and he flung a seven-inch fish from the water.

It hit Fang in the face and he pulled back, surprised and confused. "Did…did a _fish_ just slap me in the _face?"_ he asked slowly, blinking.

Gazzy ignored him and pounced on the fish at Fang's paws, sinking his sharp little teeth into its head. I grimaced at the crunching and squishing sounds and looked away. "_Oh, yeah!"_ the Gasman said proudly, and high-pawed Iggy. "First try!"

Fang huffed, "Beginner's luck," and walked over to the water's edge. "If he can get a meal out of this stupid creek, then I should be able to, too," I heard Fang mutter as he waited for his prey. I sat up on a root, out of the mud and pools of water, and watched him have a go at it.

For a while, he looked like a slick black statue, but then his paw shot out into the water. But his paw stayed in the water and his tail raised slowly, fluffing up. He had a twitchy look on his face, his teeth bared, only visible eye stretched wide. Then he yowled so loud all the birds around us flew away.

Everyone turned to look at Fang as he slung what looked like a pond-scum-covered rock out of the water. Fang yowled repeatedly as he tried shaking whatever it was off his paw, and I cracked up when I realized it was…it was a _snapping turtle._ Fang got it off quickly by biting its head.

I jumped down from my root to laugh in his face. "Got yourself your meal, I think," I said, pushing the dead turtle toward him.

Fang scowled at me and started licking his wounded paw. "The freaking thing bit me," he said between licks.

"It was a snapping turtle, _duh," _Nudge said in exasperation. She poked Fang with a paw and gave him an irritated look. "They sorta snap. And thanks a bunch, _Fang, _you, like, scared away all the prey within a five-mile radius of here! Now we're all gonna go hungry!"

We both used the power of the glare on her, and she put her ears back and stepped backward, grinning sheepishly.

"Nudge has a point. Nothing's gonna come out of its den _now," _Iggy said, coming not-so-quickly to her defense.

Suddenly, I realized I was only counting three heads—Fang, Nudge, and Iggy—and looked around. I was slightly relieved to find Angel and the Gasman sharing their kills, but wasn't pleased to _not_ find Jeb in sight. "Grrr…Dang it! Where the heck did that ferret go?!" I growled, looking around angrily.

"I haven't seen him," Iggy said, shrugging.

I wasn't in the mood for games. "You guys go eat up in the tree, I'll be back when I find him," I said, turning away. Fang picked up the turtle and Iggy and Nudge followed him up into the branches. Angel and Gazzy took what was left up there too. And I stalked down the trail Jeb had left.

_Until _it led to another big creek. I stopped and looked down at the little paw prints in the mud, then looked down the creek, worry suddenly freezing me in place. He was just here—I'd almost caught him! I felt like yowling, "Dang it!" again.

"Jeb?" I called, sincerely worried. Panic set in and I started running down the creek, my eyes locked on the water and banks as I ran. No little brown ferret. No dead little brown ferret. No _sign_ of a little brown ferret. "Jeb!" I yowled, looking down a steep cliff the water had cut.

During my frantic searching, I wasn't aware of the howls that were slowly coming closer until they were practically ringing in my ears. I looked up from where I crouched at the edge to see something small and brown hobbling as fast as it could straight out of the forest on the other side.

Huge _dogs_ were chasing it. I stood, ears pricked, eyes wide, as Jeb ran straight for the sheer drop, unaware of there being nothing between me and him, let alone of the large creek between us. I jumped forward, my wings snapping out, as a wolf-like dog slammed down on the edge, pinning Jeb down.

The ground gave way before I could reach Jeb, and the dog howled as the ground crumbled. I dived down and grabbed a familiar object, then shot back up. But something with a mouthful of sharp teeth clamped down on my tail and I looked down at the wolf in horror, trying to kick its face. It let go to yelp when it came in contact with the cold water and I just barely had time to get in control of the air again.

"Thank you, Max! Thank you! Thank you!" Jeb said, panting, as I flew out of the crevasse.

Something hard slammed into me and pushed me back to the side I'd been on. I fell in the dirt, Jeb a couple feet away; he was knocked out of my mouth on impact. Hot blood trickled down into my right eye and I looked up to see something massive pushing itself to its paws.

A wolf stood, growling at me, his yellow teeth bared and caked with plaque. And _dogs_ were supposed to have cleaner mouths than _humans?_

"Hey. How's it goin'?"

My eyes nearly popped out of my head and I caught my breath when it spoke. _"Ari? _I thought you could only turn into a _werewolf!"_ Geez! Why did I have to ask _that_ stupid question? Of course it was Ari!

He snapped his jaws and took a step closer, his bulky wings spread out to make himself look way bigger than he was. I scrambled to my paws and arched my back, leaning away. "Trying to steal my dad away _again, _huh?" he snarled, taking another step closer.

"I'm not stealing any_one _or any_thing!" _I growled back, slinking away.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire. Underwear hangin' on a telephone wire," Ari snarled. Wow. Seven-year-old childishness showing through! I didn't think there was any little kid left in the mutated, scrambled wolf-boy, but I _think_ I was just proven wrong.

I crept toward Jeb slowly, ready to snatch him and fly. There was a problem, though. Ari had wings too. I could only hope he was less used to his wolf body than I was to my cat body.

"You know, I think you're blinder than _Iggy," _I hissed, barely feeling guilty. "If you haven't noticed, I've been running around in the nude!" _That _was the frying pan that hit me, even though I was the one who said it.

Seriously, it took a lot to not start laughing because of how true it was. Nudge, Fang, Iggy, the Gasman, Angel—even me—like, it was true for us! I'm sure you've realized that, though. Thinking about the fact that we were all running around, _exposed, _was kind of weird, and I knew I'd regret saying that.

More winged wolves jumped across the small-for-them, huge-for-me gorge and advanced toward me. Ari chuckled, sounding almost like he was coughing. Crap. I was _so_ totally outnumbered, and he was enjoying it.

"Enough of this," Ari said suddenly, taking a threatening stance. Standing alone was threatening enough—it meant he was still live! Me being a breed of domestic cat and him being a huge wolf, armed with a pack, was really…yeah, it was really _bad._ My ears pricked and I gulped when Ari barked out his command. "Capture Maximum Ride and Jeb Batchelder. _Do not _kill."

Huge, heavy bodies dog piled me before I could blink. I'm not sure if I had time to yowl for help by the time tape was wrapped around my snout and all consciousness left me with a single blow to the head.

Before I went under, I thought two things: 1) I was one hundred and one percent positive that I knew what was going to happen, and 2) where'd they get the _tape?_


	19. Good as Dead

Umm…Tell me if you hate me for doing this to Fang…-sheepish grin- I just can't help it, he's a black cat

OMG! I sooo cannot wait for the MR manga! -whimpers- That's gonna be so cool! I'll buy each magazine it's in, just as long as I have it!! …Sorry…had to say that…

Umm…So, tell me if you hate me for doing this to Fang…-sheepish grin- I just can't help it, he's a black cat!

-Nyctra, the girl with an unhealthy obsession of torturing Fang…

p.s. Please check out Scarred! I _do_ put a lot of work into it, but I just don't get many readers…-pouts-

**Chapter 19: Good as Dead**

Yeah…I, uh, shouldn't have to tell you I fought with all my might, but being a tiny _cat_ against big huge _wolves, _I was definitely in for it. I'll just say this bluntly: the Erasers wrapped me in tape, hit me over the head with a rock, and the next thing I knew, I was feeling the absolute _opposite_ of a million bucks. Oh, and there was a blackout between getting hit on the head and being in pain.

My eye was swollen shut when I woke up. I looked around with open eye, but suddenly wished I hadn't woken up at all. I was in a cat carrier. Geez! Of all places, off all things, of all times! A low growl came to my attention, but I realized it was mine.

Painfully achy, I sat up. Okay, so I was seriously hunched over because I was a really tall cat, but it was still an upright position!

The more the drug they'd given me wore off, the more alert I became. One of the first things I noticed was the loud snoring of a dog in the back of this pickup. I peered out through the holes of the carrier to see a big wolf slumbering on the metal box by the cab. A wolf taking a catnap…huh.

Judging by where the sun was, it was early afternoon. Not much time had passed since I'd gone under (unless I'd been out longer than I thought), but I could already be miles away from the flock. I hoped they'd _just_ got me here, and that maybe being put in the back of the truck was what woke me up.

_I doubt it,_ I thought to myself, eyeing the lock. I made a face at it in irritation, but chewed on the metal anyway. _You're Incredible Max! C'mon! You can do this!_ I tried persuading myself, but when I thought my fangs were about to snap, I gave up trying to chew through the bars.

A commotion just out of my sight made me lift my head, hitting it on the low ceiling. I growled quietly and put my ears back, then waited for at least a single coherent word to process in my head. Or maybe it was all coherent—and I just didn't understand it because I'd had my head hit _twice._

When my anticipation was at it's peek, a wolfy Ari towered over me. For some reason, he was in an upright form. _Before, _that was all he could do. Was he able to go full wolf now?

Ari tossed in a woven sack, and I heard Jeb's surprised—ferrety—yelp. The sound caused Ari to howl with laughter. From somewhere behind him, other Erasers laughed, too. I realized, then, that I'd been listening to their snickers, not their words.

"What's wrong, Dad? You never wanna play anymore," Ari said, watching Jeb squirm inside the bag.

"Let us go!" Not the wittiest thing I've ever said, but, hey, a girl can try. Ari gave me an amused look. "At least let Jeb go—he's gonna suffocate in that thing!"

"No, he won't." Ari snorted and turned away.

"Hey! Hey, Wolf Boy! Get your furry butt back here! I've got some questions!"

"Shut up, cat," the Eraser in the truck barked.

I pressed myself as far away as possible, my back arched, and hissed at him. "Get away from me, mutt!" I snarled back. "I asked Ari, not _you."_

"I'll allow you one question. If I don't answer, tough luck," he growled, pulling my cage around with a paw so he could see inside.

"Why is everyone from the School different now?" I didn't exactly choose my words carefully, but I tried—it was pretty hard when my mind was racing and fear was making adrenaline poor into my bloodstream.

The Eraser snarled as if I'd asked something too-personal about his personal life. Him being an Eraser, I guessed he didn't have one, and the question being about the school, he shouldn't feel that it was personal. I didn't want to take my chances and say that outloud, though I would have under just about any other circumstance.

I was left to fume in silence when the Eraser jumped out of the truck, not answering. Sure that there was no one else watching me, I pressed my face against the bars to see Jeb's nose sticking out of the opening of the bag. He wasn't struggling anymore, he looked pretty calm—his breathing did, at least—so, though I hate to admit this, I was glad he hadn't died of a heart attack.

It didn't take long before late-spring heat got the best of me and I was sleeping.

I woke up to the roar of the truck. The sun had gone down quite a bit; it was pretty low now. About the truck, uh, bad news…It was moving, and the wind that buffeted me had completely different smells on it than the wind from where I'd just been. Jeb's sack was pressed against the tailgate, and my stomach churned when I wondered what would happen if the rusted old thing were to come open.

Thankfully, I didn't hear any other cars on the straight road the truck was traveling down.

I was stretching the best I could when something brown shot right in front of my cage and crashed against the metal box. The wolfy Eraser driving—Ari—swerved in surprise. He turned around to look back at me (he's a great driver, by the way!). I looked back at him as if I'd startled myself. Like…I donno…maybe I tried escaping. I quickly put on the act of trying to chew through the cat carrier.

Nudge stayed pressed against the box until I shot her a glance to let her know Ari wasn't looking anymore. She scrambled up to my cage and bit down on the lock. It was one of those things you squeeze together and the door opens. "Eew, eew! _Max, _it has your slobber on it!" she fussed, but I growled at her.

"Get me out before he looks again!"

"Oh, okay…" Nudge didn't fight anymore, and bit it again. She made a face and stepped back, licking her mouth as though she'd tasted something nasty, when my door swung open.

My paw shot out and I caught the cage door before it could clatter against the metal tailgate. Why couldn't this be a new truck, like, one made of plastic? Tisk-tisk. You'd think the School people wouldn't be as cheep. Or maybe they were saving their funds so they could torture more mutant kids…Or maybe to turn us all into animals, _I don't know!_

Just before I could grab Jeb's sack, the truck swerved again. I looked up at Ari. He was looking back all right, but he wasn't paying attention to me. He looked confused, craning his neck. A thought came to my head when I realized something: Anyone who saw that werewolf driving would _so_ freak.

But then Nudge gasped. "He hit Fang!"

"What?" I asked in confusion. What she said didn't have much of an impact on me until I left Jeb so I could stand on my hind paws and look back. Something black was in the middle of the road, its feathery wings crooked. "Fang!" I screamed, but then the truck did a sharp, quick U-turn.

Ari hit the gas, speeding toward the cats—Gazzy had instantly flew out from the hedges to Fang's aid. That was sweet of him, but I wasn't thinking of Gazzy's kindness when I was slammed against the side of the truck bed, Nudge crashing into me. I pushed her butt out of my face and jumped into the air.

_You lousy, unlucky, useless, black cat!_ I thought in anger as I pushed my self into that supper-fast mode. I reached Fang's side seconds before the truck could run all three of us over.

"Gazzy, fly!" I demanded, already tugging Fang by the scruff. _We're both gonna die!_ I thought in horror when I realized I couldn't get myself _or_ unconscious Fang out of the way. Knowing we were both road kill, I hunched over Fang, frightened tears pouring from my eyes.

The screams of my flock were drowned out by the deafening roar of the truck.


	20. Not Normal for a Cat

-does random Indian hoot- I love my gal

-does random Indian hoot- I love my gal! XD Sorry, I just couldn't help throwing her in! I hope to add more of her kind out of randomness. I'm gonna have a pic of that "cat" up on DeviantART soon, I just have to make her layout.

-Nyctra

p.s. Tell Nyc if you want somethin' to happen! ;-)

p.s.s. Has anyone ever heard of ICP? Like, Insane Clown Posse? I love Boogie Woogie Wu! -gasps- Ooh! I wonder if I should throw this in…? -thinks- Hrm…I donno…

Another p.s.-thing: OMG! MR MANGA!! (0,0) -screams-

The cat at the end it totally _my_ creation. -laughs evilly-

**Chapter 20: Not Normal for a Cat**

Ari's truck ran right over us, the bottom of it, so it felt, scraped my back. It could have been the wind, though. I looked up the moment the shadow was gone and saw Ari slamming on the break. Why was he trying to kill me right after he told some other guys _not_ to kill me? Can't he make up his mind?!

"Max…?" Fang rasped, struggling to his paws.

"We're about to get ran over! _Again!"_ I growled at him harshly. The sudden life-flashing-before-my-eyes-thing vanished just like that. Oh, wait…You can't hear me snapping my fingers, can you? You can't? Oh…well, then, on with us getting hit!

Fang limped as fast as he could, his wings dragging on the ground. Fang's limp wasn't fast enough; I had to pull him out of the way before a wheel took off his tail. He hissed at me. Must have grabbed a soft spot. I didn't realize there was a steep drop until after I'd pulled Fang down with me. If we were still avian-kids, it wouldn't have been steep at all, but since we'd shrunk considerably, it felt like falling over a cliff.

I still had my eyes shut tight, ears back, and mouth on the back of Fang's neck when the roar of the truck passed and the rocks quit falling on us. Up on the road, I heard a cat darting across it.

"Iggy, wait!" I tried to warn him in time, but the gray tabby didn't throw on the breaks soon enough. I jumped out of the way quickly, and when I turned around, I had to hold my wrist to my mouth to keep from laughing. My laugh turned into a cough as I sat down to watch the two toms get untangled.

"How many times do you have to fall on me?" Fang grumbled.

Iggy grinned. "Till I can see?" he offered, then looked up as Nudge came in for a landing.

I rushed to her and took the bag from her jaws, then tore it open as quickly as I could. Jeb was curled up in a tight ball, but once the air got to him, he uncurled with a loud sigh. "Could someone _please_ give that girl some flight lessons," he said desperately.

"You look a little green, there," Iggy commented, and I shot him a glance.

"I _feel_ green," Jeb muttered, clearly not getting it.

"Really?" Nudge tilted her head and prodded him with a paw. "You feel furry to me—and brown!"

Iggy poked Jeb cautiously, as if he were taunting a snake or something. "Yeah. What Nudge said."

After a couple more pokes, Jeb rolled onto his feet, flicked his tail, and scurried to me. He hid between my front paws. I ignored the ferret and watched Fang lick his scrapes as he ignored me and the rest of the flock. My eyes flickered over to where they were hiding in the shade of a shrub, then took a deep breath, having second thoughts about asking this.

"Why…?" I trailed off with a sigh, and chose a different question. "Are you all right?"

Fang looked up from his pawpad, a disgusted look on his face. Disgusted as in he'd just been licking something that tasted awful. "I was just hit by a freaking madman, what do you think?" Then he gestured at something behind me. "Looks like the muffler hit you."

I stuck my tongue out at him and looked away. "Thanks for pointing it out. Now I feel it." I twisted around to lick the wound on my back, wincing when I realized the cut was deeper than I'd thought.

While I'd been licking my wound, Jeb had hobbled off. Somewhere between him hobbling off and now, Fang had leaned over me. I jumped when I felt his tongue rasp over my ear, but froze when he spoke.

"You do know Ari came within half an inch of cutting your spine in half, right?" he murmured. "Here I try making him swerve into a ditch, and there you go and get yourself hit too." Fang took a break of murmuring quietly to chuckle. "I really don't like saying this, but…thanks for saving my hide."

Annoyed simply by the last thing he'd said, I pushed him away. "Yeah, and _I_ should be lecturing you about looking both ways before you cross," I snapped.

Fang smirked at me, at something hidden that he found funny, while the others couldn't see. I couldn't put my claw on the look in his eyes, but I decided to drop the thought as he walked over to the flock like the tough tomcat he now was. _Stupid toms,_ I thought, getting up to follow after. _Can't live with 'em. Can't live without 'em._

Gazzy and Iggy poked fun at Fang for half an hour as we padded back into the trees and hunted for food and a place to rest. Then Nudge stopped rambling in Angel's and my ears, padded up to Iggy and put her tail and wing around him. She puffed out her chest—which was completely useless because he was _blind,_ hello?—and forced him to go on a short walk with her.

I held my paw in front of them, a stern look on my face. "Where do you think you two are going?" I asked.

Nudge rolled her eyes and groaned in exasperation, then scowled into the trees. "We're just goin' for a—"

"A walk. I know," I said in a hiss, and pushed myself between them. "Sorry, Ig. But I need to talk to Nudge."

If I thought that girl groaned before, I take it back. That had been a sigh. The _"Arg!"_ that rang in my ears was the groan…or maybe growl. But I flicked my tail, and she followed me stubbornly, scowling at the forest floor. Behind us, the flock stopped prowling around to watch us.

_Maybe I…_the Voice trailed off. I got the hint Jeb was giving me and glanced back at him. He was ready to scurry to us, but I shook my head and returned to walking.

When we were a good distance away, I hoped up on a nice, smooth, warm rock and closed my eyes to gather my thoughts just a little bit longer. A couple minutes passed before I opened my eyes and sighed. "I never thought I was going to have to do this," I muttered, shaking my head. If I could, I'd be rubbing my temples out of habit.

Nudge had an ear angled toward me, but she was facing away.

That's when I decided to skip the hesitation crap and blurt it out. "We're already in a screwy position, Nudge—don't go making it any worse! I don't need you having babies with Iggy—that's sick! And he's, like, fourteen, and you're only, like, eleven, and that's a pretty big age difference!" I left out the part about _all_ of us still being kids.

She was looking up at me with wide brown eyes. Here's something nice: I wasn't the only one who could kitty-blush. "You think—"

I didn't give her time to finish another word. _"Yes,_ I think. And I've been seeing you do some pretty un-Nudgely stuff since we were turned into cats." Man, did that feel weird to say! Without even meaning to, I jumped off my rock and nuzzled her. "Nudge, please, please, please, don't. I won't be able to stand it if you do!" I realized that I was begging enough to want to punch myself.

"But—"

"_No. Kittens."_

Nudge suddenly bounced away from me, tripping over her paws. "All right, sure!" she said, glancing back at me worriedly, and then stumbling again. I stared after her as she hurried away. I must have been acting pretty weird to scare her off like that.

My tail dragged as I made my back to the others a few moments later. I was really worried about Nudge. What would happen if—oh, geez—she _did_ have kittens? And with Iggy?! A worried growl tried turning into a confused yowl, but I kept my mouth clamped shut.

Just when the others came into view, something rustled. I stopped dead in my tracks, _two_ of my paws still lifted in the air. It rustled again, and I slowly turned my head to see a mouse. The rodent had its back to me as it nibbled on a seed.

In a lightning-fast movement, I pounced and killed it. I was just about to gulp it down when two blood-red eyes snapped open two feet from my face. My stomach clenched and adrenaline ran dry when a cat, bigger than the bobcats, smaller than the cougars, sat up from its resting place and towered over me.

_How_ did I not see something so huge? That's probably what you're thinking. So here's my answer: this feline, or whatever it was, was camouflaged. Not with tans or dirt colors. It was completely green. Mostly evergreen-green, with a couple patches of fur like that light blue-gray-green mossy stuff. Half of its right ear was missing, and its paws were like nothing I've ever seen on a cat. You know, I could spend an hour describing this thing.

The cat's psychotic chuckle made my fur stand higher. Suddenly, it looked back down at me after having its head thrown back in laughter. My attention darted to its yellow teeth as they snapped together when it stopped laughing abruptly. This cat has some fangs on it!

I slowly backed up when it dropped its head down to look at me.

"This is _great,"_ she purred slowly, her chin brushing the ground. "Miniature failures."

After staring into its red eyes for several _looong_ moments, I spun around and flew through the trees toward my flock, screaming—er, I mean _yowling._ Well, ain't I a little pu—I mean, sissy!


	21. Snap

Okay, I'm, like, so totally sorry for the wait

Okay, I'm, like, so totally sorry for the wait! I've had this written for a little while, a few days, actually, but I've been busy with other stuff, and we just got over a massive heat-wave sort of thing. (x,x) So my laptop was working horrible for a while there, and I still haven't gotten the next Chapter written for this.

That's 'cause I've been working on a massive (seriously, it's giganto) Chapter of _Scarred_, and it took a few days to write and edit. And now I've got to go back to working on Ss2 because I want to hurry up and get that book written before Momma and I go to London.

So, sorry, people, if it takes even longer for the next Chapter! I'm very sorry, and I know this is a long A/N, but it's just to let ya know.

Love ya if you review, and love ya if you've read this far! Of course you've read this far, why else would you be over here?

- _Nyctra_

p.s.…

Suggestions: open

Scene ideas: open

Egh, Green Kat, the stuck-thing, people being turned into animals, all that good junk including the story, belongs to me.

Max and company James Patterson

p.s. Please, seriously, check out Scarred some time. I think it's a lot better than this, and it's serious. Hey, it's got a drooling Ella in it, too! lol _Please?_ -makes Bami-eyes at you- It doesn't get enough attention for the amount of work I put into it.

**Chapter 21: Snap**

When I got back to the others, I was panting from, not the run, but from shock. My eyes were wide as saucers, and I stared at the ground in front of me, my head between my forelegs. That…was…not…expected…My eyes flashed up at Jeb, who was looking at me curiously with beady little ferret eyes.

"You…tell me what the heck that was that I saw!" I yowled, bounding toward him. I pinned Jeb to the ground, snarling in his face.

"W-what are you talking about?" he asked.

I unsheathed my claws and pressed one under his jaw. "You should know," I growled

"It _depends._ What did you see?" Jeb winced when I sheathed my claws again. I took my paw off, then took him by surprise by laughing hysterically and suddenly sending him flying with a swat.

"Tell me what it was!" I shrieked.

"Max, please calm down," Angel said, looking up at me with wide blue eyes. As soon as I glanced into them, I calmed down a little bit. It was so hard to be angry while looking at her.

Thankful for her little push back into the wonderful land of sanity, I closed my eyes and held my head high, collecting my thoughts. Meditating, if you will. Meditating with my whole flock watching me curiously, probably planning to dog pile me and hold me down to keep me from eating Jeb when I sprung again.

Off to my other side, it sounded like something was just snapped back into place, and I heard Fang hiss in pain. I opened my eyes to see Iggy brushing his back with his tail.

"See? Wasn't that bad, was it?" the gray tom asked humorously.

"I'm in pain. My pain is focused on my shoulders. _Would you mind getting your paws off me?!"_ Fang snarled, lashing out at Iggy.

Angel caught my eye, and I gestured with my head for her to go over to the guys. She nodded, and trotted over to Fang, purring and being sweet. He lied down grudgingly, and didn't claw her for licking his sore shoulders. He did shoot me a glare, though.

I looked back to where Jeb had been, to find that he'd ran off to hide under Nudge. She looked at me innocently and shrugged. My nose scrunched up when I looked at him, and I pursued the rodent once more. Jeb trembled as he stared up at me helplessly.

"Tell me what I saw," I said through my teeth. My eyes were closed; I didn't want to look at him and risk actually killing Jeb.

"I'll repeat—it depends. What was it that you saw?"

My eyes flashed open and I glared at Jeb threateningly. "It was a green—"

A shadow blocked out the sun, and I stood within it. Nudge's ears dropped back, and her pelt prickled she backed away slowly, ready to fly. I gulped, my eyes wide, and turned my head slowly to look at the creature standing behind me.

"_Howdy!_ Name's Green Kat—Kat with a K," she said, holding her paw out for me as if I was supposed to shake it. Her pawpad alone was as big as my skull. This cat seemed pretty friendly, but I was still scared out of my wits.

_Go on, Max,_ Angel urged.

I reached out slowly, my only options flight or friendly handshake—er, I mean pawshake. This Green Kat's pawpad was like silk, but was harder than I could have imagined. I pulled my paw away quickly when she moved hers, and took a step back.

A long, hooked claw extended from one toe and poked me with the harmless edge. It was dark green and flawless. And lethally sharp. Figures.

"You're a soft one," she purred, then twisted her head around. "Egh!" It almost sounded like she called "egg," but there was the sound of breath at the end. Or maybe it was her way of saying "eh." But then why did it sound like she was…

"Holy molly," Nudge murmured, when yet another massive green feline emerged from the trees, like an animated bush on four long legs.

Okay, I'm not sure which of these guys looked weirder. This new one, "Egh" as Green Kat seemed to have called him, was a dappled with green. The darkest green made up some of his strange pelt; large, broken circles were sprinkled on him, each circle with a solid dot in the center. Along with that, he had shimmering red stripes, and a red streak running from the corner of his eyes down to the corners of his mouth. On each ear were four silver earrings, and holding his forepaws together were shackles and clinked at he walked.

Everything about him told me to grab the flock and take flight.

"And I'm Egh, Green Kat's brother," he said politely, nodding his head in acknowledgement instead of making me shake his paw. His deep rumble gave me the hint that if he was like us, a human turned into an animal, he'd be punk or emo or something like that. I'm sorry. He just…sorta, kinda, reminded me of Fang, with the exception of the politeness.

Green Kat pulled her head back and gave him a disgusted look. "And who said you was my brother?" she asked, moving her head around to make herself look sassy. Egh put his paw up and shoved her away; somehow, the solid chain allowed it. He stood way taller than the cougars and, unlike Green Kat, had fairly short fur—compared to his body, I mean.

I couldn't be rude. After all, these guys had openly introduced themselves. And they weren't trying to eat us. _Yet._

So I flicked my tail at Nudge where she hissed behind me. "She's Nudge. Over there's Fang, with him is Angel. Gaz and Iggy, and…I'm Max," I said cautiously, waiting for one of these giants to do something that triggered me and my flock to scatter like pigeons. I glanced around for Jeb, but I didn't see him. "There was a…"

"Right here," he said quietly, and crept out from behind me. Since when did I ever say anyone could use me to hide behind? Jeb's teeth chattered when he spoke his name, and he moved under me the millisecond after he'd finished it.

_Everyone_ jumped back when Green Kat suddenly crouched down, her size decreasing. _"Growrrr,"_ she purred, standing up again and stretching her hind legs behind her. "Is _this_ more comfortable for you kitties?" Her voice was now lighter, but carried a note in it that made my fur stand on end.

Angel gulped. "N-n-not really," she stuttered, as the Gasman quickly whispered about the transformation to Iggy, who stared blankly. She crept up to them quickly, Fang following behind her; safety in numbers. Meanwhile, Nudge was frozen with her back arched, and Jeb was still trembling between my forepaws.

"Are you from the School?" I asked—more like blurted out—bravely, then wished I hadn't said that.

Green Kat put her ears back, her lips drawing over her yellowed teeth in a hissing snarl. Her brother, Egh, growled, making the ground vibrate, and unsheathed his long—seemingly polished—emerald claws. It triggered the scatter I'd been expecting.

_This is it!_ I thought when Green Kat plowed into me, snarls ripping loudly, her claws hooking pawfuls of my fur.


	22. Of Different Worlds

Sorry for the wait

Sorry for the wait! I've just hit an everything-block, so...that sucks...But at least I got this written! I hope you like it.  
Green Kat, Egh, MR characters being turned into cats Nyctra Scandia  
Maximum Ride characters, anything MR (Erasers, whitecoats, er…whatever else) James Patterson  
Anything you think of I'll give you credit for!  
MRcats To-Do List:  
Hazel  
Some FAX  
TLK-like scene  
Green Kat on a broom!

-Nyctra

p.s. An idea would be helpful. I'm clueless as to what's gonna be in the next Chapter!

**Chapter 22: Of Different Worlds**

Frightened—and stunned by the attack—I lied on my back at the fierce green feline de-furred me.

It took only half a second for me to recognize this as an attack, and my paws instantly pressed in and up against her wide shoulders, my claws unsheathed for a better grip. I was probably wrong to hope to wound Green Kat. So far, pushing her off was impossible. My back legs kicked her stomach, and I knew I was trying to rip her guts out instinctively. Or at least that's what I knew I was aiming at.

Green Kat twisted herself around me, getting her belly out of the way of my hind paws, and drug me a few feet. My claws hooked the fur on her face, but they wouldn't puncture her flesh for some reason.

A loud, earthshaking yowl made my ears ring. _"Green Kat!"_ Egh yelled, and a big paw scooped the cat away. I was lifted by my scruff for a moment until she let go and I crashed into the ground.

Panting, I glanced up at them quickly and launched myself into the trees, with my flock. Angel started to rush toward me, but I lied my ears back and hissed at her to keep her in her spot. The rest of my flock stared at me worriedly. I looked back at the two green felines quickly. Egh could sit back on his haunches and stick his nose in my face if he wanted to. But he stayed on all fours and simply looked up at me, Green Kat safely under his paw.

"Green Kat is a little…sensitive…when it comes to the School," he explained calmly, apologetically, as his sister yowled out profanities. "We really didn't like being kept there," he translated for Green Kat.

"They were creatures found up in Canada," Jeb said quickly, stuttering once or twice. "Nobody knew where they came from, but they found they were—"

"Nothing like normal _kitties!"_ Green Kat spat-snarled as she scrabbled beneath a paw bigger than her. "You can tell just by how we look! Do you see what happened to my brother? Do you see that?!" Her lashing suddenly stopped. Without her paws flailing, I could see the deep gouges in the dirt beside her from where they had scraped the grass away.

I took a deep breath and stood on all four paws, looking at Egh. "I don't see anything wrong with you," I said steadily. "What did they do?"

"They removed my amulet, taking away ability to change size, and trapped my paws in these cuffs," he said, looking away. Okay…That sounded like something you'd read in a fantasy book. "I can no longer transform to appear human…and neither can Green Kat, but they haven't taken away _her_ amulet. I do not understand why." He shook his big head slowly.

I snuck a glance at the seething feline. I didn't see anything on Green Kat, but it was probably hidden under her fur. Which was likely, with how long and thick it was.

Something in my head sort of clicked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up," I said, waving my paw. I looked back up. "We've ran into cougars who couldn't morph into something else, and Erasers can only go from canines to werewolves. Jeb's been turned into a freaking _rodent_ for Pete's sake, and we've been turned into cats…" My train of thought was lost. "I…I got nothing," I sighed, and looked behind me. "Does anyone think this is a little strange?"

"_Sure do!"_ Iggy said with a wide grin, then dropped his ears and head down and narrowed his eyes. "But aren't we two percent birdie and ninety-eight percent human? Last I checked, there wasn't anymore room for _cat."_

I shrugged. "Yeah…well…something's up with people and animals," I said, struggling a little for words.

"Animals are people too," Green Kat commented, standing up and brushing her shoulders off. "You kitties fly," she said, then flicked her eyes up at her brother. "So does Egh."

"Umm, like, wouldn't that defy some laws of gravity?" Nudge asked, looking Egh up and down quickly. "I mean, you can't be like Supercat—or are you? That would be—" Fang flicked his tail into her mouth. Nudge had a bit of a hard time with a mouthful of fur, so she glared at Fang.

A loud _whoosh!_ sounded as wind suddenly shook our tree. My whole flock stared at a gigantic red and green carpet over the forest floor. And I'm not talking about bloodied grass. Feathery dragon wings extended from Egh's shoulders—almost like the ones from the movie _Eragon_! Where the primaries of a bird's wing would be, there was a big red circle with a single blotch in the center. The red feathers glistened just like his red fur. You could tell these weren't bird wings because:

1) of the small feathers

2) of the movable thumblike digit, and

3) there were four long spikes in the primary range.

Did I mention you could see the lumps in the wings from where his bones were? This…was…freaky…Freakier than anything we'd seen yet! And that's saying something, right?

When Egh held his massive wings up into the air, I realized the circle and dot resembled two big red eyes.

"That…is so…cool!" Gazzy exclaimed, staring at the dragon like wings in thrilled aw.

"What _are_ you, exactly?" Fang asked, sincerely curious. He looked surprised to see the giant wings. He also looked like was going to wet himself if Egh moved at all.

Green Kat growled. "We cannot reveal that," she said, prickling, and jumped onto her brother's back in on leap. "It could mean the destruction of our race, and if that were to happen, more torment on our souls." She sat on Egh like he were a horse, her rear legs on either side of his neck. "Let us fly, my mighty brother! _Fly_ into the _sunset!"_ she yowled, holding his earrings in her paws. She's a Drama Queen, I think.

Egh rolled his red and blue eyes. "It's still a few hours till the sun sets, my dear sister," he said, and her smile vanished.

Nudge, Angel, and the Gasman chuckled quietly at the look on Green Kat's face. Fang even hid his smirk with his wrist. Iggy scowled in silence because no one was telling him what they were looking at. Angel's ears pricked and she glanced at him, back at me, then started whispering to him.

"Okay, so _you_ can't shrink, she can; you can give yourself wings, she can't; and neither of you can turn into humans?" I guessed, tilting my head to the side.

"Ooh! I can turn into a human!" Gazzy said suddenly, and his face contorted as though he were thinking too hard.

"Gaz, don't—," I started, but, sadly, it was too late.

Everyone jumped away from him as he let on rip. Iggy gagged for breath as he stumbled away on the branch, following the guidance of Fang's tail. Angel and Nudge simply flew to branches further away. I backed up to the trunk of the tree and grimaced.

"_Yuck,"_ Egh said, waving his paw in front of his nose. "I was wondering what that stench was."

"_Gazzy!"_ I groaned. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

The Gasman's reply was a big grin and an evil snicker.

I decided to talk around my paw. "So am I right?" I asked, my meow muffled.

Egh eyed Jeb for a second before looking back at me and nodding once. "I believe it is time for Green Kat and I to leave," he announced, and before anyone could say anything, the trees creaked as he jumped above them in one great leap.

My flock and I flew up to the top branches and looked up at the sky, at the giant creature flying away. Green Kat was cackling like a witch from his back.

When the two were long gone, I slowly looked over at Fang. He was at my side and still staring at the speck. "That was way freaking weird," I said.

His blue eye flickered over to me, but his head didn't move. "Are you okay? Looks like Green Kat hooked your cheek…"

I wiped it with the back of my paw, but when I put my face up again, I was greeted by Fang's tongue rasping over the minor wound. "I'm okay," I said, and pushed him off the branch.


	23. Gourmet Dinner

I hope to post the next in a moment…

I hope to post the next in a moment…

-Nyctra

**Chapter 23: Gourmet Dinner**

My flock had turned to me once the two huge, bizarre green cats had left our sight. Nudge, Angel, and the Gasman looked well beyond creeped out, and Iggy was smiling with a sarcastic air to him. Fang climbed back onto the branch and looked away from everyone.

"What do you know about those guys, Jeb?" he asked solemnly, as if he didn't care if Jeb answered or not. Fang didn't sound interested, but the fact that he'd asked told me he was.

Jeb shrugged helplessly, looking up past my legs at Fang, then looking straight up at me. He seemed to like hiding between our paws; he did it often. Jeb was looking at me as he spoke quickly. "I just know things like how fast they can run, their anatomy, and a few of their limits. Itex didn't fund anyone to make them, they were found up in Canada, in the wilderness. Egh had a reaction to the anesthetic, and they were studied."

"Egh said something about an amulet thing. Like, what was he talking about? Do you know? What did it look like? Why can't he do stuff—like transform and stuff? Didn't he say Green Kat couldn't do something?" Nudge asked, looking at Jeb for a moment, then looking at all of us, expecting us to know the answer.

I rolled my eyes.

The ferret scrambled out from under me and picked his way along the woven branch and forest of smaller branches. He climbed up onto Iggy's head and looked out at the distance. Iggy scowled. Jeb looked like he was thinking.

"It was something found on him," he said slowly. "I didn't know about the female having one. Egh seemed helpless without it, so it was locked up, or maybe even destroyed."

"How long did whitecoats have them?" Angel asked, sounding so sweet and innocent that anyone would have no choice but to answer with the truth.

Jeb shrugged. "Not long, under a year," he said, and went back to staring out over the trees.

"Do they have anything important to do with us?" I asked, wanting to get this over with. I didn't want to sit and have a lesson about cats we had no ties with in case there were Erasers nearby.

"No, I doubt it."

I stood up and flicked my tail. "Okay, then. I think we ought to get away from here," I said, and crouched down so Jeb could get on my back easily.

Fang looked at me smugly while Jeb had his back turned, and I stuck my tongue out at him in return.

"Which way?" Gazzy asked, seeing that I was staring around myself, clueless.

"Uhh…How about toward the mountains?" I said, pointing with my muzzle in a rough guess of directly west.

Nudge shuffled her wings and prodded the branch. "But isn't that the way Egh and Green Kat went?"

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with 'em," Iggy said as he stood up. "You sure sounded like that's what you meant," he added before I could snap at him.

"We're going this way because there's mountains this way. Where there's mountains, there's not as many people—"

"Where there's mountains, there's also people in laboratories who experiment on little white mice," Iggy said, speaking through his teeth.

Nudge nuzzled him. "Sorry we didn't really explain them to ya, Ig," she said, purring guiltily.

"Yeah, sorry," the Gasman said, poking Iggy's paw with his own.

"_Enough of this!"_ I growled loudly, and opened my wings. "We're leaving! Now!" I shook my head quickly in annoyance and jumped from the branch. The air caught under my wings instantly, and I soared up into the sky.

My flock, though they were confused by my outburst, followed after me. We flew in V formation, me at the head. Iggy and Fang, on either side of me, stayed a safe distance back. Angel behind Fang, Nudge and Gazzy behind Iggy. Jeb didn't comment on my raised hackles, and I was thankful.

When my fur flattened out on my shoulders and back, I glanced behind me at the flock. "Okay, guys. Keep your eyes out for a—"

"There's one behind that restaurant," Angel said, reaching into the wind with a paw and pointing at something below.

"Good job, Ange," I said, back to being myself again. "Let's go check it out."

A few minutes later, we alighted on the roof of the brick restaurant. A teenage girl in white and dark green work clothes wiped her face on her shoulder as she went back inside, pulling a trashcan behind her.

The Gasman inhaled deeply. "I smell pizza," he said, his eyes closed, a hungry smile on his face.

"With any luck, there'll be some crust," Iggy said, and did a cannonball off the roof. I looked over the edge, surprised and worried, but he bounced off of a big black bag and fell face-first into a messy pile of old spaghetti. His rear was in the air for a moment, but then he went into more of a laying position and dropped it.

Iggy's voice was muffled when he called up to us. Though it _may_ have been muffled because he still hadn't moved.

"Come on in! The garbage is _great!"_

Nudge and Gazzy dived after him before I could object, but I snatched Angel by the scruff before she could jump off the roof too.

"But, _Max!"_ she complained, squirming.

"I don't want you staining your fur," I said, pulling her back.

"I'm not gonna stain," Angel assured me, then looked at Fang with wide blue eyes.

"Oh, just _let her,"_ Fang said, and my jaw dropped.

"Is she—you—Angel—mind control? Angel, are you using mind control on Fang?" I finally said, looking from Fang to Angel. That was probably the worst case of stuttering I'd ever had.

Angel looked at me, using her Bambi eyes on me just as she had on Fang.

I groaned. _"Try_ not to fall in pasta," I said, defeated. Angel brightened up and bounded over the edge. I stood with my head low until something cold and leathery touched my nose. I blinked my eyes open and saw Fang looking at me.

Suddenly, the ferret on my back snickered.

Fang's eyes widened and we both looked away from each other.

"That was sweet," Jeb said, tapping his claws from the back of my head to my brow, as if he was making his fingers walk. "But please—no more kitty kisses?"

"That wasn't a kiss!" I hissed, trying to turn my head around to glare at him. "That was a nose tap…something!"

_Whatever you say,_ said the Voice.

I scowled and looked back to Fang. He was already jumping over the ledge. My scowl was turned into something more ugly. I couldn't put a name on it, but I knew it wasn't pretty.

"Shut up!" I snapped at Jeb, who was still chuckling about it. "Look out below!" I yowled. The ferret held on tight as I ran for the edge of the building and fell several feet.


	24. Firelight

And the next

And the next! For once, I know what's comin' next! It'll be a little while till I write it, though, because I have Dark Assassin to do, and it's part of a serious series you most likely know nothing about. (x,x) I wish more people would read it. Will _you?_ (9,9) -gives you Bambi eyes- It's on DA if you want to read about mutant teenagers.

-Nyctra

_Ss1 Dark Angel_: nyctra./art/Shapeshifters-Prologue-70993556

**Chapter 24: Firelight**

Guess where I landed? Yep! In the spaghetti. I had fun cleaning my whiskers after _that._ Seriously, though. I really did land in the spaghetti. Now all the white on me was greasy and orange-red. I felt worse for Iggy, though. He was silvery, but now his face, chest, and forelegs were just was orange and oily as my paws and belly.

We all laughed about it while we ate, but then it was time to go.

Nudge and the Gasman were still giggling when we settled down for the night at the top of a big oak tree in a state park. Jeb was sleeping with Angel and Nudge beside the trunk behind me. Up and to my left, Iggy was grooming himself once more before going to sleep. Beside him, draped over the branch, was the Gasman, already snoring. Under my branch, Fang laid in full alert mode, head up, tail tip twitching as he listened to the forest around him.

"Hey, you," I hissed when the others had fallen asleep.

Fang's attention was on me.

"Get some sleep—you were ran over today, if you don't remember."

He rolled his eyes and put his head on a foreleg. "Don't take watch the whole night," he warned in a whisper, and got comfy.

It only took a few minutes for him to start snoring quietly, and when that happened, I paced out to the end of my branch and sat down in a clump of leaves. Fireflies flashed around below me, like glowing pollen. I listened for danger as I watched the little bugs.

Probably near the middle of my watch was when I heard a ruckus far away. I was lying on the branch, my forepaws tucked under my chest, when I first heard it. The sound got closer and clearer fast, but it was still a couple minutes before I could put a name to what it was.

Huge paws snapping logs, dogs howling to drive the beast that was their prey forward…I got to my paws and wondered what I was going to see next—a rainbow raccoon?

But then I saw her.

It had to be Green Kat! I saw the green-dappled pelt, the long, crooked tail. I saw her illuminated for only a split second, and then there was a stream of wolves.

"Egh! Where are you, you big lump o' fur?" she yowled when she was out of my sight.

Suddenly, there was an explosion that shook the tree. The others—somehow—slept through it; all that food earlier must have been the cause.

I flew up into the air and looked at where the explosion had gone off. A red and black mushroom cloud of smoke and flames was billowing up over the forest. Over the crackling of the fire surrounding it, I heard a loud roar. That couldn't be Egh, could it? Then he lifted over the trees for a moment, fangs bared. When the ropes and chains holding him tugged him back down, several trees fell with him.

My wings were pumping as I rushed to the scene, not knowing what I was doing—I couldn't even make myself turn back to my flock! I landed in a tree the flames hadn't gotten to yet and looked down at the scene. Wolf people were tying Green Kat in chains.

It took a moment for me to spot Egh.

When I did, I still had a hard time concentrating on what was Egh and what was fire and greenery. The red on Egh's pelt and wings shimmered like rubies. Pink foam spewed from his mouth, and I noticed the blood spattered on his fur. The fire and embers made him look all the more fierce as he reared up, his pelt rippling. When he came down, he literally _squashed_ one of the Erasers.

Frozen, I stared in horror as a particularly muscular Eraser threw a big hook at Egh as he stood on his hind legs again. The chain attached to the hook wrapped around the restraint that held Egh's paws together. Egh yowled in pain when the Eraser yanked on it; I saw blood spurt from a forepaw where his cuff must have wounded him. A dart shot out from somewhere and stuck in Egh's neck. A moment later, he groaned and stumbled.

The Erasers dashed out of his way as he dragged his feet, walking toward Green Kat. His maw opened once more in an earsplitting cry of defeat before his back legs gave out. He stumbled again, and crashed onto his side. Green Kat used her forepaws to pull herself closer to him. She touched noses with him before her head fell.

Well that was…_dramatic._

"Green Kat! Egh!" someone yowled, and I realized too late that it had been me. My eyes flashed up to the Erasers. All of them had stopped what they were doing, even an Eraser in a truck looked out his window to look at me.

My ears dropped.

"Crap."

I whirled around and flew at the speed of light back to the others. Landing on a branch that I nearly fell off of, I started yowling at my flock. "Wake up! Wake up! Gazzy, stop dreaming about gummy bears!" I pushed the Gasman and jumped over him to nudge Iggy.

"Everyone! _Fly!"_

They saw the fire that had followed me, and didn't ask questions. Before I took flight again, I stopped and stared into the red tunnel. Fire covered every visible inch of plant life, but somehow, the Erasers were running right through it, carrying embers on their pelts.

I jumped off my branch, but while I was flying straight up, something sharp stabbed my side. I yowled and started to plummet. "Fang!" I screamed, seeing him diving after me. Against my _every will,_ my eyelids fell over my eyes, and I was out of it before I hit the ground.

Or maybe I'd hit the ground already and had just…

** No One's PoV **

He dove after Max and caught her by the scruff. It was too late, though, and him catching her only lightened the impact. Fang fell on his back, Max unconscious and crossed over him. He scrambled to his paws, pushing her off, and looked at the tan she-cat.

Her mouth hung open, blood trickling onto the ground. It looked as though she'd bitten her tongue. Other than that, she didn't appear harmed. Her flank was moving slowly.

Fang bit the dart stuck in her side and pulled it out. He spat it out and looked up at the growing fire as it rushed closer. The crackling and roaring of the fire nearly covered up the flock's screams, and he only just heard the Erasers.

Only a heartbeat later, the huge hounds from hell jumped out from the fire and lunged at Fang. He tried to lash out at his attacker, but he was being shaken too much to. He caught sight of several wolves jumping into the air, snapping out wings.

The Eraser shaking Fang let him go, and he crashed into the ground, tumbling in the dirt. The last thing he heard was the flock's yowls and the roaring fire, then an Eraser stuck him with a needle, and he went under.


	25. Wolves and a Rabbit

Okay, humongo oopsies and apologies. I'm sorry for not updating this sooner, I really truly am. So, it's 'bout time I update, huh? lol Please don't kill me. -hides from any angry folk out there-

Hazel © friend who goes by the name of Hazel on DA

Sam & Storm © Nyctra Scandia, from _Shapeshifters_.

Green Kat & Egh © Nyctra Scandia, _MRcats_ characters.

**Chapter 25: Wolves and a Rabbit**

_Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow._

Every pulse sent a new pain throbbing in my head. My eyes squeezed shut, even though I knew it would only make the migraine worse. I wished with all my might that the pain would go away, but that wasn't going to happen. So, despite my aching muscles, I heaved myself to my paws.

And hit my head, right off the bat.

My eyes flashed open, causing another bolt of pain to streak through my head, and I took in my surroundings quickly. The three walls I could see were dull tan and had a rough texture. I looked out through the holes on the sides as I turned around.

A fierce hiss instantly sounded from me. I tried arching my back, but the cage was too small. I tried calculating how far away the wolf was, but something…something wasn't right.

It was lying on its side, eyes closed, sides moving slowly. It didn't make sense, and I don't know how to explain it really. This thing—whatever it was—looked exactly like a wolf. But it was as big as a cat.

I looked away from the slumbering black lump. In the cage next to it, there was another of…whatever it was. Only it was white. To my left, Fang. On his left, the Gasman, then Iggy. On top of Fang's cat carrier was the smallest of the crates. Angel was in that one, I could smell her up there. Above me, I could hear Nudge mumbling in her sleep.

_Where's Jeb?_ I wondered, straining to see any other cages. There were none.

I went back to observing the two sleeping miniwolves—until the black one's eyes shot open. His lips drew back over his teeth, but he didn't move. "Who are you?" he growled.

"Uhh…Max. No offence, but what are you? A new breed of dog?"

"Name-calling, huh?" The white one sat up. Her voice told me she was female, of course I could also tell from eyesight and scent. She blinked, and looked around at the cages. "Are you Shapeshifters too?"

"Shape-whaters?" Fang asked, waking up.

The white miniwolf startled. "Whoa. Weird hairdo," she commented.

"Sam, we don't know what these guys are, don't do anything stupid," the male warned.

"Oh, you mean stupid like _this?"_ Sam slammed herself into the front of the cage, against the bars, and shrieked as it slid against the floor. Her body seemed to suddenly twist around, and then she didn't look like a wolf at all. A bird took her place two heartbeats later. Long black talons rattled the cage door, and when the male miniwolf got her calmed, the bars where her feet had been were pulled together.

"Dang," Fang muttered, impressed. I glanced at him; he was staring at the bent metal with wide eyes.

"We're a hell of a lot stronger than we look," the male said, glancing our way quickly. His ears pricked suddenly, and his bright blue eyes widened. He craned his neck and pressed his cheek against the bars, trying to look at the only door in the room. The female was doing the same.

Everyone was awake now, and everyone was copying them. Guess you can call us "copycats."

The door was slowly pushed open, but I couldn't see who was there; there wasn't any shadow on the murky window above. Maybe a midget whitecoat? I doubted it.

Something small and brown caught my eye. Everyone stared at the creature trying to push through the door. The thing stopped moving for a moment and glanced toward the rows of cages. "Uhh…Ignore the bunny with her head stuck."

The black miniwolf muttered a curseword, and said something about a rabbit.

It occurred to me that a rabbit was what I was gawking at.

And then she shot through the door and slid out of view. There was a thump, and then metal things fell off a small pushable table.

"Oh, my gosh! Like, are you all right? Are you hurt? _Oh, my gosh!"_ Nudge exclaimed. I rolled my eyes and prepared for a billion words to spew from her mouth. "Were you like us? But, like, you know, got turned into a bunny? Can you hop?!"

The rabbit crawled out from behind the white miniwolf's cage. There were two weird things. The most obvious: it was carring what looked like a giant key. Yeah. Oookay. The second obvious thing: this rabbit wasn't entirely a rabbit. She had wings. Another big surprise in our surprising lives, eh?

"Did you guys know there's giant strangely colored cats in another room?" she asked, looking at the door as she started to unlock cage doors.

Soon, the mystery hare had everyone out, including the two miniwolves.

The rabbit was panting. Nudge nudged her curiously, and the rabbit looked up to grin sheepishly.

I padded over and prodded the rabbit. "So what's with you?" I asked.

Behind me, the flock murmured about how weird and stupid things had been running lately. The winged rabbit paid no attention to them, thank God. "I…came here…to…rescue you," she panted, and lied her head on the cool floor. "Gimme a moment."

The small white wolf padded up to us, and Nudge and I backed away, hissing instinctively. Sam whimpered, and backed up to the male when he growled. Her tail wagged and she licked at his face. "I'm so _hungry,"_ I heard her whisper.

"You've dealt with worse," the little black wolf said, and looked up at us. "Are you the leader of your…"

"Flock, and yeah."

"Storm," he said, gesturing to himself. Storm looked over at the white one at his side. "This is Sam."

"And I'm Hazel!" the rabbit declared proudly.

I raised one of my kitty-eyebrows at the hare—rabbit! Sorry. "Your name, right?" I asked, and Hazel nodded happily, totally unaware of the miniwolf that had been planning on making her into breakfast. "Well, thanks, Hazel…I guess…" I glanced around at my anxious flock, and padded around the rabbit quickly. "Let's get Green Kat and Egh out before anything else weird happens."

I'd been looking behind me, my eyes on Fang smirking because it was such a rare thing, and painfully found out _why_ he'd been smirking. Nose-first, I crashed into the leg of a steel table. I withdrew quickly, scrambling back, and sat on my haunches to rub my nose.

"Geez! Why didn't you—?"

As Fang passed me on his way to the open door, he shouldered me playfully. I jumped up and trotted ahead of him, behind Gazzy. I hoped that it was a growling stomach I heard and not gas.

"Hey, keep your tail down," I growled, pawing it out of my way as I walked into the hall. "The sight's bad enough, I don't need a bomb aimed directly as my face."

"Sorry, Max," he said, and dropped his tail down so it was like a J behind him.

Hazel darted overhead, hovered in the air for a moment in front of a door, then waved a small paw for us to come over. The pace quickened until we were all in front of the door.

Someone behind me gagged in disgust. "I think it's time we went our own way. What do you say, Storm?" The white wolf looked over at the male.

Storm looked around at us, and then a burst of black feathers erupted from his body, and before anyone could blink, there was an owl and a raven flying—obviously, quite literally—down the hall. They banked sharply down another hall and were gone in moments.

"Were those friends of yours?" Iggy asked.

Hazel shook her head. "Nope. Never seen 'em before." She shrugged. "Umm…are you guys sure you wanna let them out?" she asked warily. Hazel was perched on the door handle, peering in through the window. "They're aweful big, and I'm sure awful hungry…"

"I don't think Egh would eat us—and I don't think he'd let Kat. He's too much of a sweetie—I think so, at least. What do you think Max?" She didn't wait for me to even breathe. "I think he is, but, oh, geez, I bet they're starved. I wonder what the School wants with them? Max—"

"Shut it and keep it shut till we get out, okay?" I gave Nudge a stern glare, and she ducked her head.


	26. Escape Route

(o,o) IDK.

- Nyctra Scandia

**Chapter 26: Escape Route**

Hazel flapped her wings suddenly, catching everyone's attention. I was thankful for her distraction—everyone had been giving me scowls for snapping at Nudge, and Nudge herself had retreated over to Iggy and Angel. Iggy licked her head, and Angel purred and brushed her side against her.

Nudge was back to herself by the time Hazel sneezed from the dust falling from her wings. It was incredible! Nudge's mouth was open but no words were gushing from it! What was also incredible was the sparkling powder drifting down from the door handle where Hazel perched.

Iggy sniffed the air. "What's with the baby powder?" he asked, and wiped his nose with a wrist.

"It's Pixy Dust not baby powder!" Hazel objected, and sat back on her rear to cross her forelegs and pout. She then slid, putting pressure on the end of the door handle, and it clicked open. The gray-winged rabbit caught herself a foot from the floor, and shot inside the room.

I jumped forward and dashed inside, the others pounding behind me.

A roar.

A huge green paw slammed down in front of me.

"Holy—," I started but cut off. It was bad enough Angel could see inside my head, I didn't need her hearing me say it verbally.

I scrambled backward, the others backing away with me, smashing the tiles there to bits. Good thing I'd stepped back, otherwise I would have been dead meat.

Green Kat reared up, and snapped her jaws at the air.

Something squeaked.

When Green Kat crashed back down on all fours, heavy black chains roaring behind her as they shifted and fell, I caught side of something brown in her mouth.

Another huge beast roared, and on the other side of the large room, I could see Egh strapped down tightly to a table, massive wings pinned on either side of him.

"Green Kat, drop it now!" he snarled, struggling under his restraints. "Drop the rabbit, Kat!"

I didn't even have time to look back to Green Kat when something slammed into me, knocking me back. I blinked and looked up at the disoriented rabbit. Hazel was sitting on my chest, shivering from shock, dripping with thick, sticky, reeking, pale green drool. Oh, how nasty.

"Get it off her feathers—now!" Egh yelled.

"Why?" Fang couldn't help but ask.

"Because it'll ruin them," growled Egh. "Quick. There's a sink over there." He pointed beside the door, and sure enough, there was a sink.

My stomach twisted and lurched when I thought of what I was going to have to do, but I swallowed it back and jumped up, grabbing Hazel by the scruff and flying her quickly to the sink. I pushed the water on, fumbling with my paws, until it was practically spraying from the faucet.

"I feel high," Hazel slurred, swaying. Her eyes were droopy and her ears hung low.

I pushed her into the water. "Probably just the fumes," I said, and began stroking her wings to wash away the slime. When I pulled my paw away, I found that it wasn't the cold water making it tingle. Green Kat's drool was. Then I saw Hazel's singed wings. More feathers than there should have been were clogging the drain.

"What did you just do to her?" I demanded as I jumped out of the sink to balance on the edge of the counter.

"Green Kat's saliva destroys feathers," Egh said gravely. "She's not herself right now—you mustn't get near."

The flock backed away an extra five feet, well out of the snarling feline's way. Green Kat gave up swiping at them when they moved, and began chasing her crooked tail. Everyone was speechless, standing in fear and awe as the huge cat spun in circles, tangling herself in the chains big enough for a grown man to stick his fist through. The links themselves were as thick as my neck.

"There is nothing you can do," Egh growled. "Leave!"

Green Kat stopped whirling on the floor and laughed at her brother. "Nothing they can do, you say?" She laughed harder. "They can fly! I'll fly too! I will! I will! You'll all see, my purry friends—you will!" Her spinning started up again, and as the chains curled tighter and tighter around her, they started to groan.

In a couple more turns, she went flying to one side, and smashed into a wall. She grunted as she pushed herself to her feet again. She flexed her muscles, and a sickening _snap!_ sounded from her back.

I swallowed. Did…Had she…just broken her back? She was still standing?

Green Kat shook, the chains clanking more as she did so. Foam dripped from her mouth as she started to limp toward her brother. As she padded across the room, her two right legs untwisted, and her limp faded away. That was some fast healing.

Her chains had left huge scratches in the floor behind her, streaking black against the blood smears. She put her forepaws on the table that supported most of Egh's body, and put some pressure on it. The metal legs bent, and then snapped like twigs.

"I think we should run," Hazel whispered, and I nodded mindlessly as I watched Green Kat bite the chains around Egh's neck and rip them away.

"I can do it all on my own," Green Kat purred, and began yanking the ends of the other chains from where they were bolted to the table.

Egh's green and red eyes were on us, warning clear as day.

The tables on either side of him lifted into the air as he lifted his wings, startling the flock and Hazel, and we rushed to the door. I stuck behind for just a moment, looking back to see what was going on. Hey, it's not every day something like this happens!

Egh was flailing, smashing the tables to pieces until the chains slipped from his wings. Green Kat took a step back, but then she whirled, snarled at me, and charged.

"Crap!" I hissed, and spun to run after the flock. _I am never sticking around to watch—never again!_ I yelled at myself mentally as I raced. Running was just too slow, so I snapped out my wings. In just a moment, my momentum was enough to get me in the air without flapping.

Fang was standing at a corner, waiting for me, but then his eyes widened when he saw Green Kat smash through the wall, leaving no hint of there ever being an actual door within the gaping hole. The massive cat slid into the hall, and then her paws were pounding.

"You'd better freaking fly, Fang!" I yowled as I shot past him. Fang was at my side in a heartbeat, and we were coming up to the flock. We were both screaming at them to fly, and they saw soon enough why.

Green Kat and Egh were racing after us, gaining quickly. Egh's eyes were locked on Green Kat's flank.

Then he jumped.

And then the two massive felines smashed into the floor. Green Kat began yowling swears at her brother, while Egh held her down firmly as she lashed beneath him. He was giving us time to escape. What a kind tom.

Ahead of me, Hazel dropped four feet, her ridiculous key holding her down like a lead weight. I swooped, snatched it from her, and continued on my way. Somehow though, Hazel was already at the closed door at the end of the hall, and before anyone could touch it, it flew open.

"You've gotta love the power of Pixy Dust!" she exclaimed in my ear as I passed. The door slammed shut behind the flock and her, and we settled on the floor for a moment of rest. That much flying, that fast, could probably kill us if we weren't careful, might make our body temperatures rise too high or something.

I was fine though, barely out of breath. The others, on the other paw, weren't so fine. Unlike me, they didn't have hyper speed, so they'd been flying as fast as possible for them.

Fang lied down beside me, gasping. "Man, this floor feels good," he said, and rolled onto his side.

"Your wings are fine, right, Hazel?" I asked.

She stretched them, showing her lightly feathered under wing, and grimaced. "They're usable," she said glumly. "But all my pretty feathers are gone!" She waved her wings a little. "And I think it's time to pick up more Pixy Dust from Toys 'R' Us."

"What?" Gazzy eyed her. "Pixy Dust? Are you kidding?"

"How do you think I got the doors open?" she said in confusion, turning to him.

The Gasman flicked his tail in my direction. "That key?" he guessed.

Hazel was quick to her feet and glaring at him almost the same way Angel would glare at him. "Oh, that's not a key, it's a weapon!"

Gazzy cracked up as though it was hilarious.

He stopped when something slammed into the door.

"Break over—time to fly!" I said, and grabbed Hazel's key/weapon and set off.

Green Kat's roars and yowls rang down the halls, and soon the sirens went off. The whitecoats and Erasers had two bigger problems than us to deal with, and they didn't even notice us.


	27. Fang Loves His Peanut Butter

A section of this is credited to HazelRahHrairoo from DeviantART. Hee-hee. Hazel belongs to Hazel.

Fang loving peanut butter is not totally my idea. I forgot who's idea it was to get his head stuck in a jar, but I'll thank you on DA, if you're reading this. Lol

Enjoy and please review!

- Nyctra Scandia

**Chapter 27: Fang Loves His Peanut Butter**

Just like something I'd seen on TV—sort of—Nudge, Angel, and I bobbed our heads, eyes unblinking and locked on the happy-go-lucky brown rabbit bouncing up and down on a bed. She used her rear legs to spring herself up and waved her wings to hold herself in the air for a heartbeat longer than she would have without the flapping.

Yeah. She was on a bed. We'd "broke" into somebody's home again. So what? It was no big deal. It was just a little studio apartment, and who would notice six winged cats and a winged rabbit hanging about?

It was near sunset now, and we were going to have to take off soon, _before_ the renter of this place came home from work or school or from wherever they may be. We'd pigged out on some picked-at leftover chicken that had been left in the fridge, but Hazel had preferred the vegetables. I'm not sure, but I think she was a little grossed out with seeing us gathered around the chicken husk like a group of lions around an antelope.

Apart from Hazel having a blast on a full stomach, and us she-cats watching her…

Something Gazzy had eaten had made him…well, gassy. His rear end sticking out the open window, a huge grin on his face—yeah, I'd say he was proud of his stink bombs. I think it might have been the chicken that did it.

Iggy was curled up next to Fang, his face tucked in his forepaws. The big grey tom's pierced ear flicked every now and then, but he was snoring away.

Fang was content with sitting in a back-straining position. His lower half was on its side, but his upper half was twisted around as though he were on his back. Fang purred to himself quietly and continued to clean his claws and groom his chest.

Nudge nudged me.

I looked down to her as quick as I could. My cheeks heated up as she smirked at me. "Whatcha lookin' at, Max?" she whispered teasingly.

"Doing a headcount," I lied.

Nudge rolled her eyes. _"Riiight."_ Her rippled fur twitched and she jumped up. "I wanna catch something—I'm still hungry. Max, can you come with me? Iggy's sleeping…" She pouted. "And I don't wanna go out there alone."

I was to my paws in an instant. "Of course, Nudge. Angel—"

"Is swallow on the menu?" the fluffy kitten asked hopefully.

I smiled and tapped my nose on hers. "You can swallow as many swallows as you'd like," I said lovingly. Before I followed Angel and Nudge to and out the window, I stopped by Fang.

He stopped licking his fur and looked up at me with a gorgeous blue eye. Oh—did I just say that? Oops. Pretend you didn't read that, okay? Please? My reputation's at stake here.

"Something you wanted to say?" Fang asked after a long moment of me just standing in front of him like a deer in the headlights.

I shook my head and was brought back to my body. "No," I gasped out. "Just…uhh…keep an eye on the boys, okay, Fang?" I turned on my heels and sprang forward. I flew right out the window.

"Sure thing," I heard Fang grumble as I passed the Gasman on the way out.

A small voice made me turn around and hover.

"Hey! Max!" Hazel was at the window, looking out helplessly. "Can I come?"

"Depends," I called back. "Do you have a strong enough stomach?"

The rabbit frowned. "Oh. Right. Never mind then!" She waved a paw over her head. "See you in a few, then!" Before Gazzy had the time to pass any gas in her face, Hazel hopped down from the windowsill.

When I turned back around, I was in for a surprise. Angel was going after a bird almost as big as her. Before I could make any move to go after her, or make my vocal cords work so I could scream her name, the little white kitten caught up with the dark gray bird. She knocked it out of the air, and Nudge swooped down to catch it in her jaws.

"Let's do that again!" Angel exclaimed.

"Mmm-hmm," Nudge agreed, the pigeon still in her mouth.

A bird hiding in the trees down near a creek behind the house caught my attention. I led Nudge and Angel out of sight of humans before we were seen. They began sniffing the bank for any ground prey, while I perched up in a tree, watching the mockingbird with wide, hungry eyes. I felt my jaw quiver, a hungry _mroow_ forcing its way out.

The second the mockingbird turned around to reach for a spider on its web, I dived off the branch and shot through the trees. The bird fluttered upwards when I was five feet away, but I managed to hook it with my claws. I brought the bird down quickly and started to gulp it down.

Ahh. I felt nice and full again. Eat when you can—that's the rule a bird-kid's got to go by. Of course, there was so much prey everywhere that we never really went hungry. Funny how many options there were now that we were cats.

Before Nudge, Angel, and I headed back to the others, we made sure that there was enough prey for them too. One by one we flew through the open window, and one by one, we slid to a stop on the kitchen floor and dropped our prey in pure surprise.

What…the…heck? What on Earth was Fang covered in? And why was his head in a _jar?_

Fang hunched his back and walked backwards carefully, shaking his head from side to side. His tail was bushy and curled up under him. I could hear his meowing coming from inside the plastic jar on his head.

Hazel, Gazzy, and Iggy were on the floor, teary and laughing their furry little butts off.

Nudge and Angel burst into laughter at the same time when they realized what was covering Fang, and what was on his head.

"What the—what are you doing, Fang?" I asked, astonished. I rushed forward and pulled the container off his head.

"I was eating that!" he complained louder than he'd ever _yelled,_ and lunged for the peanut butter jar I'd sent rolling across the room. He used his face to slide it around on the floor, eventually pushing it up against the refrigerator. His head disappeared inside the jar. I scowled, and pulled it off his head again. "What the heck are you _doing?"_

"Peanut butter! I love you, peanut butter!" Fang yowled, and went after the jar again.

This time, I stood back and watched, my face twisted in confusion. Slowly, I turned to the others, who were all having a blast and laughing so hard it was surprising they could breathe. "Would someone mind telling me what has possessed Fang?" I asked. Behind me, Fang purred and rolled around in the peanut butter he'd smeared on the floor.

Hazel, still giggling, pushed herself off Nudge and stepped forward. "I…I think I'm to blame," she snickered.

"What the heck did you do?" I asked. How could a rabbit be the cause of Fang's bizarre behavior? Maybe it was a mental disorder that had just come out hibernation…Hmm.

"Peanut butter! Peanut butter! I love my peanut butter! It is sticky, it is yummy, it is now all in my tummy…" Fang hummed and bobbed his head. He'd licked up _all_ of the peanut butter. How was that possible in so little time?! I gawked at him for a moment, just until he stuck his head in the peanut butter jar again.

Hazel shifted her wings and paws, the giggles not going away. "I gave him Pixie Dust so we could have a laugh," she admitted. Pixie Dust? Where did she keep the stuff?

"What's he gonna do?" I questioned. And how long would this _last?_ I glanced back at Fang worriedly.

Fang had kicked the jar off, having licked it clean, and was looking around the kitchen. His eyes widened briefly. He fluttered up to the top of the fridge, and squealed like Nudge over something "fabtacular." Fang threw his head back to squeal, and then he pawed another jar of you-know-what off the top of the fridge. It cracked against the floor, and then Fang was ripping it open all the way with his claws and teeth.

"Uhh…Go crazy for a while? Probably eat his weight in peanut butter," Hazel guessed cautiously, hopping backwards to get out of Fangs way as he trotted past, the new peanut butter container hanging in shreds from his mouth.

"Yum, yum, yum. Mah peanut buttah goes down in mah tummeh," Fang mumbled around his peanut butter. He wiped a paw in it and licked it off sloppily, a happy look on his face as he stuffed himself with it.

I would have barfed by now, if I was in his position. I also would have killed myself out of humiliation. Okay, maybe not that drastic, but I'd at least wear a bag over my head for the rest of my life.

"Why peanut butter?" Angel piped.

Hazel shrugged and gave her an innocent look. "I dunno. Last time it was cheese." She grinned.

I smacked my face with a paw and frowned. Ugh. I wasn't even going to ask.

The other's laughter was dying down when Angel's ears suddenly pricked. She shot me a worried look. A moment later, we could all smell what had caused her to go ridged.

A moment later, it was too late.

A huge wolf crashed through the window, showering us with glass. Fang hissed furiously and stood over his peanut butter. The flock huddled together in a line, all facing the big wolf on the kitchen counter. The wooden door behind us snapped like a twig. Bits of wood flew around the room. I wasn't sure what hurt worse; glass in my pawpad or a huge chunk of wood hitting me in the head.

"Get em!" the wolf at the window snarled. Two more wolves jumped in through the window and dived at us. All of the flock but me and Fang took flight. Fang was still crouched over the shredded jar, his eyes wide, teeth bared.

"Come on, idiot!" I growled, tugging at his scruff.

"But my—"

I didn't have time to whack him on the head.

An Eraser jumped in front of me, to my horror, and grabbed Fang in his jaws. Fang yowled as the wolf shook his huge head from side to side. I snarled and attacked the Eraser's face, clawing at his eyes and nose. The Eraser dropped Fang and locked his teeth on my foreleg. I yowled in pain, and saw something black lunge at the wolf.

Good.

That idiot, Fang, had finally come out of it.

"Let her go!" Fang snarled furiously as he ripped chunks of fur from the wolf. The Eraser tossed me, and I crashed into the wall. Fang had dashed under the Eraser and through his legs. The Eraser missed Fang's tail, and bit his own leg. In the time it took the Eraser to yelp, Fang was at my side, yanking me to my feet by the scruff.

I stumbled upright and then took flight. We raced out after the others. Hazel was the last out, after us. That was why my stomach lurched when I heard her squeak, "Help!" I could only glance back to see an Eraser falling to the ground, her in his mouth.

My ears pushed down against my head when I looked forward again.

There was no way we could take on that many wolves when we weren't even a forth of their size.

I was all too grateful that these Erasers didn't have wings as we raced away.


	28. I’m a Big Kitty

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated. (O,o) Anyway, there's a treat to go with this Chapter! An animation, if you haven't heard already. YUP! An animation. How fun is that? lol  nyctra. deviantart . com/art/MRcats-The-Gasman-Attacks-99263259 Go there, and click on the

download button on the left side of the screen. It's also on YouTube, with some sound. :3 www. Youtube .com /watch?vT0gWXl9ZlW4 (Take out all spaces.)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the random FAX—I mean Chapter!

-Nyctra Scandia

**Chapter 28: I'm a Big Kitty**

I spent about half the night with my head down, feeling guilty. Everyone but Fang had been asleep. He'd helped me keep watch until he pushed me to get some rest. I licked his ridiculous tuft of fur before padding away from him and plopping down with the others.

A black rabbit plagued my dreams, followed by the death of other rabbits. It was unnerving, and I woke up in a sweat. I licked at my matted fur for a couple of minutes before padding away to roll in some nice cool grass.

I stared up at the stars, just…wondering what had happened to our newest friend. I'd almost hoped that I'd see the giant green cat, Egh, flying overhead, but then remembered that Green Kat would probably end up jumping off his back to eat us.

Just when I was about to get up and return to the flock, a black cat padded over and stood over me. I mean seriously. Fang _stood_ over me. Not _leaned_ over me. Stood. I glowered up at him.

"What do _you_ want?" I asked.

Fang smirked. My ear twitched. His smirk turned into a grin. "What do you think?" he shot back, and tapped his nose to mine.

I kicked at his stomach. "Get off me!"

Sure enough, he backed off. Fang looked at me with his head cocked to one side. "You wanna go for a walk?" he asked, Fang again.

My ears pressed against the back of my head for a second while I thought. I shrugged my wings. "Sure…I guess…"

_Max,_ the Voice warned in that certain fatherly tone.

_Geez, Voice,_ I thought. _What do you think I'm gonna do?_

The Voice took a moment to reply. _Fair enough._ The Voice let it drop, and didn't nag me as I started padding down a trail with Fang.

A good six inches was kept between us at all times. We were quiet, didn't say anything. There was an owl hooting nearby. We figured we might as well be safe than be sorry, so we stuck to the shadows and under the bushes. We were nearing a small brook when Fang's flank touched mine. I missed a step and glanced at our shoulders touching. I'm sure I was kitty-blushing again.

Fang paused by the stream and looked into the water. "I wonder what crawfish taste like," he muttered. I figured he must have spotted one. I padded back to him and looked down into the water.

"I don't see any," I said, and looked harder.

Something hit me in the rear. I yowled in surprise and fell face first into the water. When I crawled back out, I shot Fang the bird as best I could with a paw.

"You look like a drowned cat," he snickered, crouching down in front of me.

I shook my head to get some of the water out of my ears. "Yeah, well, I'm very alive, thank you."

Fang's eyes widened when I stretched my neck and grabbed him by the scruff. His claws screeched against the rock, and him clinging to me drug me down with him. We fell into the water with a loud _splash!_

I was out of there quicker than Fang was. My wet fur was heavy, but no heavier than Fang's, I'm sure. He must have felt terribly uneven, having that huge tuft on his head.

"Wonderful _moon!"_ he laughed.

My cheeks burned and I ran with my tail pressed between my legs. Fang caught up with me, and knocked me into the dirt. He just laughed at his achievement as he lied on my back.

I was laughing too, somehow. I pushed his cheek with a paw. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep or something?" I asked, still laughing.

"I was waiting for you to wake up," he said. Fang rolled onto his side and stuck his face over mine jus to drip some water in my face. In a quick motion that surprised him, I licked his nose.

"You're being un-Fang-like," I noted.

"And you're not ripping my fur out," he said, and licked my nose in return. If I wasn't blushing before, I _had_ to be blushing now. "We're totally gonna catch colds if we don't stop playing with water."

"Here I thought cats were supposed to hate water," I added. I rubbed my cheek against Fang's for a moment, purring. He purred back.

_Maaax,_ the Voice called, again in warning.

_Could you just get off my back?_ I thought to the Voice.

_No, I will not. Get back to your flock. _Bossy much? Sheesh.

I sighed. "The Voice says we should head back."

Fang also sighed. "The Voice knows best, I suppose."

I nodded and grimaced because it was true. I shook water and dirt from my pelt, and hoped the others wouldn't ask for an explanation in the morning or whenever they woke up. I lied down where I'd fallen asleep last, and Fang lied down beside me. He started purring and licking my pelt. Just because it was a nice thing to do, I did the same to him. The rhythm of purring and licking was like nighttime cold medicine; it put me to sleep quickly.

Though how I'd fallen asleep had been nice, what was _in_ sleep was bad. Nightmares of that black rabbit and other menacing things. How a rabbit can be menacing, I don't really know, but it just was. Those two large cats that had cornered me were part of the nightmare. I can't remember exactly how it went, but there was some pretty terrifying stuff I'd never thought about before I'd become a cat.

When I woke up, I rose with a start. I was panting, my head was kind of foggy, and I seemed…_taller._

Fang was asleep next to me. I nuzzled him and pushed him with a paw. I was in for a big surprise when I noticed my paw was _huge._ I tried not to crush Fang with it as I nudged him to wake him up.

"Fang…I don't feel right," I whispered.

Fang groaned and turned his head slowly to look at me. Then his eyes popped open and he yowled, _"Holy crap!"_

It woke up the flock. They started hissing and growling. The Gasman yowled had dashed over to me. I can tell you that it _was not_ in a friendly way. He clung to my back leg like it was a freaking clawing post.

When I opened my mouth to yowl, a roar came out instead. "Gazzy, let go of my leg!" I demanded, yowling in a deep roar-like tone. I shook my leg furiously until he was shaken off.

Fang was standing in front of the others sideways as if in protection. This time, Gazzy _and_ Nudge attacked me. Nudge clung to my head and chewed on my ear while the Gasman held onto my tail.

"Get off of me, idiots! It's me! Max!"

"Mmx?" Nudge mumbled around my ear.

I shook my head and pawed at her, claws sheethed. "Yeah. _Max._ Hey, how's my ear taste to you? _Waxy?_ I hope so." Nudge sheathed her claws and fluttered off my head. I flicked the Gasman off my tail and he fell onto Iggy. I looked down at my mega-short flock. I felt like I was getting taller as I stood there.

"Max?" Fang said as though he'd never heard my name before. He looked up at me, his eyes following my head as it oddly became higher. I looked back at myself. My stripes were turning into splotches and one single smear of brown down my back. I stretched out my huge wings and stared at them in awe for a moment. _Big wings!_ Oh, how familiar. The tip of my tail was bushy. _Not_ familiar.

I looked back down at my flock when I'd stopped changing. "Would someone mind telling me what I am now?"

Angel jumped over Gazzy, who was still on the ground, gawking up at me in surprise. "You're a big kitty, Max!" she said in excitement.


	29. Did You Hear That?

I just wrote and edited this. Hope you enjoy!

- Nyctra Scandia

P.S. Please check out Scarred! It's my other MR fanfic…

**Chapter 29: Did You Hear That?**

I stared at myself some more in awe and surprise and shock. The closest thing I can put my claw on was that I looked like a big, winged lion. Just with some…uhh…non-lion pelt patterns. I had no idea where I'd gotten my pelt, but it wasn't changing anymore, and there wasn't much I could do about. Not that I really cared, but, heck. I _did_ look pretty cool.

Five minutes of silence passed as we all took in the new me.

At last, I gasped an excited yowl and jumped up to swat a paw in the air like I would if I were human and punching the air. "This is so awesome! I'm _huge!"_

Gazzy snickered, but Iggy backed away.

I spun around in a quick circle just to end up tripping over the huge paws I was unfamiliar to. I rolled onto my back just inches in front of the flock. Did Iggy know I was going to do that? If he had or hadn't, it was still a good thing he'd moved. I could have squashed him.

"You guys are like…kittens compared to me!" I laughed, and they all jumped back.

Nudge waved a paw in her face. "Ugh, bad breath, Max! Eew! That was _awful!"_

I flicked her with the huge bushed tip of my tail, which was bigger than two of her heads put together. "Shut up, Nudge. You _know_ you're jealous."

Nudge pounced onto my head and started to prod my neck. "You know, Max, I'm surprised you don't have a mane," she teased. "You're always such a tomboy."

"Hey! I'm a lioness—not a lion!" I objected.

The others laughed and joined in on cat-piling me. Well, Fang stayed out of it; he sat up in a tree to watch. Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, and Iggy tried to find my new ticklish spots. As it turns out, I was ticklish was behind my ears, my shoulders, and my paw pads.

While we were having a good old time, I heard something swoop and crash.

I sat up at once. I glanced at my flock quickly to make sure I hadn't squashed anyone. Iggy, Angel, and the Gasman were tickling Nudge now, unaware of what I'd heard.

"Did you hear that, Fang?"

He nodded. "Two options. Check it out or run."

I was already dashing toward where I'd heard the crash. Fang called my name and followed me in a useless attempt to bring me back.

With the agility of a servile, I leapt up into a tree and bounced from branch to branch for a short ways, just to get off the ground where the predators stalked. It was just a habit to do that. I mean, after walking around on the ground, a little tiny cat, I really did feel much safer in the trees.

I stopped dead when I saw something huge and green moving. It took me a second to figure out that the red I saw on this new giant cat wasn't blood, although it did glisten like it.

"_Max!"_ Fang hissed, not knowing about the giant I was watching.

A needle shot past me and struck Fang. Yes, that's right. A needle. I'd only caught a glimpse of it, but it _looked_ like a porcupine needle. It was about as long as Fang's head was, front to back. The needle went right through the fleshy part of one of his wings.

Fang yowled and his wings snapped to his sides. I jumped off my branch to grab him out of the air as he fell into the clearing the giant cat had made. I grabbed Fang in my mouth and started to pull out of the dive when something warm and wet wrapped around me.

The cat I'd thought was already a giant was now as big as a house.

And I was in its mouth.

I flexed my claws and used his nose as a clawing post. It didn't phase this beast one bit. I stared into his cold eyes for possibly the last seconds of my life. The black slits cutting through the blue oceans changed size as the massive cat adjusted the focused of his eyes on me. If my thoughts weren't elsewhere, I would have thought he looked funny cross eyed.

I winced and closed my eyes when the deafening snarl bubbled up in his throat.

This was the end. I was going to die.

Curiosity killed the cat.


	30. Martians or Felidans?

Sorry it's been so long since the last update! I've been working my butt off on my other writings. I've been sick for the past few days and needed a break from _Scarred_ (OMG, IT'S DOUBLE THE SIZE OF MR3!!! -spazdie-), so I wrote this last night, edited it today. I have no idea what _hot dang_ means. -shrug-

Felidans are my creation! DO NOT TAKE!!

Also, check out my art and other writing on DeviantART! XP I'm taking commissions now, and yes, I do actually do good art! lol Check out some of my work sometime if you haven't. There's some MRcats comics (up to Chapter I-forgot) and random MRcats pictures, including one of Fang getting bit by the turtle. -giggle- Oh, and remind me to make new character pics 'cause the old ones suck! *grimaces*

Anything else…hmm…nope, not really. Enjoy the Chapter 'cause who knows when you'll see the next! :D

-Nyctra Scandia

P.S. Anyone here live in Oregon? (0,o)

**Chapter 30: Martians or Felidans?**

I waited for the crushing pressure I knew this giant was capable of. When would it come? When would it be over? I wondered that as I waited those heart pounding moments as the giant cat snarled. The sound reverberated from his whole being, shaking the ground, I'm sure, like an earthquake. The sound was so loud it made my ears ring for a long time after it stopped.

My mouth tightened around Fang's limp body when the giant cat gave me a squeeze. I mewed—yes, mewed; maybe I wasn't entirely lion yet—as I felt the slight change start to crush my bones and bend my ribcage. I was lodged between a gap in the giant's upper teeth, but there were still the two teeth from below that pressed into my chest and gut.

Any heartbeat now, this cat would snap me like a twig, I just knew it.

There was a sudden feeling of my insides being left behind. Air rushed around me, icy where the cat's hot drool had soaked me, just cold in the places that I was dry. I opened my teary eyes and was astonished to see the trees and ground coming up fast. I fell through the air for an instant longer as I came out of the shock and tried to regain control of my body.

_He let me go? But why?_

_Now, Max! Run!_ shouted the Voice.

_Easy for _you_ to say!_ I thought back.

I landed clumsily in the grass. Still gripping unconscious Fang in my mouth, I bunched my muscles to spring away from the scene as fast as I could, but just as I was doing so, something that weighed a few tones came down on the tip of my tail. I jerked back. The base of my tail tingled and burned. Have you ever hit your elbow? Imagine that at your tailbone area, if you will.

I arched my back and looked back at the paw behind me. _That is one big paw!_ I thought in astonishment. Retracted claws stuck out of the tops of his toes, each claw-tip curved, deadly, and the size of my new lion head.

"Hold up there, pussy cat," the huge feline rumbled, a smirk on his face. Did I pick up on a western accent in that cat's rumbles? "Where do you think you're going in such a rush?" Well, hot dang—I _sure did!_ Mock accent.

"What do you want?" I growled.

The cat lifted his paw and placed it back where it had been, back in the impression in the ground. "Big voice for such a little kitty," he purred.

"And I can sound bigger!" I spat around Fang. The effect of Fang being in my mouth didn't help the awkwardness of the situation, but I'd deal.

The giant cat turned his head with a slow movement. He looked up at the sky, one ear angled toward me, and shuffled his feathered bat-like wings. There was a large leather strap wrapped around him, and even a belt. An axe with a ruby head and handle of silver stuck out like a sore thumb against his green and red pelt, and the hilt of a long sword jutted up above the cat's back. There was another strap of worn leather on one of his forelegs. I only caught a quick glance, but I'm positive that's where he stored the needles he'd shot out at Fang. How a cat so huge could grab such little pins, I have no idea. How a cat could grab a pin in general, I _still_ have no idea.

"My name is Butch. Do you think you could help me?" he said coolly.

After getting a clear view of the kinds of things he had on him, I took a cautious step away. "With what?" I growled. What could this beast need help with? He looked like a big boy; surely he could help himself.

"With finding a dwarf." The cat's dark blue eyes shot to me and his teeth gleamed in the starlight as he grinned a feral grin.

On my right was Butch. On my left was an unexpected snarl. _"Bad news,"_ another giant cat growled. "Guess who's here?" This cat's voice was familiar, but it was bigger, louder, and higher up than I remembered. I looked in its direction with wide, horrified eyes. Another massive green cat stood above me, drool dripping from the corners of her mouth. Both her ears—or what was left of _one_ of them—were pricked in anticipation, her startling red eyes showing excitement, yellow fangs bared and sharp.

Butch's eyes flickered over to Green Kat. He growled in pleasure. "Found yourself, have you?" Grass was ripped from the ground as he flexed his long claws and turned to face Green Kat.

"That and more," Green Kat snarled.

Butch looked down at me and smiled. "Never mind. I don't need your help anymore."

I ducked just as Green Kat, half as big as Butch, crashed through the trees and plowed into him. I darted into the trees and stopped several yards in to watch the fight for a moment. I was just out of the makeshift arena, where I stopped.

The giants lashed at each other, snarling, hissing, _roaring._ Their huge paws swiped at each other, tugging at each other's thick fur and tearing out wads. The only evidence that Green Kat had a paw hiding underneath all the fur on her right paw were the claws that stuck through the long fur.

The blows these guys threw at each other were enough to snap large trees in half. How did I know? Because Green Kat swiped at Butch, Butch dodged, and the next thing I knew, there was half a tree sticking halfway out of the ground, the roots exposed and everything. Yards away, the other half of the tree smashed into the ground.

I asked myself why I wasn't running, but I knew why; I was stunned, shocked, shaken, traumatized, flabbergasted—okay, I was frozen in fear; you get the point. Frozen in fear and about to pee my pants. If I was wearing pants, that is.

Where did these freaks come from? I think it goes without saying that they weren't from here!

Green Kat smacked Butch's face and I flinched as a splash of red liquid came my way. It was hot, thick, sticky, and sickly sweet. I curled my lip up at the smell and shook my head, careful not to shake Fang up too bad. That was totally gross. Blood shower. Yuck! It was surely no great loss for either of the giants, but that _had_ to be as much fluids as I had in my entire body. I felt woozy. These cats were brutal.

By the time I had my eyes open and focused on the fight again, there was no fight left. A normal sized man with bright red hair had a woman pinned to the ground, a knife held to her throat. My eyes widened and I looked over the ferns to get a better look. I even dropped Fang. Whoops.

The man was packed with muscles, but was tall, thin, and lean, whereas the woman on the ground has some real meat on her bones. I'm talking about _muscles!_ Geez! Thick arms, thick legs, some scary stomach muscles. Both of them wore practically nothing; just some leathers that looked like they belonged in a museum of ancient history. Green Kat, obviously the woman, had long—very, very long—green hair that fanned out around her on the ground. Her red eyes were narrowed up at the man crouching over her.

Egh, currently the size of a lion, a bit bigger than me, padded into the blood-spattered and fur-scattered hollow then, looking at the two in disapproval. "This is not your play place!" he hissed. "If a human finds this, what do you think will happen? Your marks are left all over this forest. Shame on you!"

Green Kat and Butch changed their forms so fast I hardly saw them change at all. One instant they looked like some very odd humans, the next they looked just as they had when they were cats last, just much smaller and not nearly as threatening-like. They were still extremely intimidating.

"Like they'll ever find this," Green Kat scoffed before purring and jumping onto her rear legs to nuzzle her brother's face. She dropped back down and rubbed her flank against him, eyeing the new tom. "So were you sent here for me, Butchy? It's the only reason I know of. Certainly the Day Star isn't _that_ upset with me?"

"She may be the queen of day and light, but she is not queen over me," Butch snorted.

I tucked Fang close to a tree, where I'd grab him if I had to flee, and then stepped out into the clearing Butch had made upon landing.

"Excuse me? What is going on?" I called. "One minute, that guy is eight times bigger than a freaking elephant and wanting to eat me, and the next him and Kat are at each other's throat. Now you're all standing around chatting like old friends. What is going on here?" I yowled across the clearing.

"You spoke with one of the Earthlings, didn't you, Butcher?" Egh accused, and swatted Butch's head.

"I can't have a little fun from time to time?" Butch growled.

Green Kat left her brother and Butch to pad up to me. She ducked her head and pulled something out of her fur with a paw. It looked like a black strip of something charred—burnt leather, maybe?—but when it was completely in my view, on the ground in fact, I saw that it was a necklace. A silver ring with a perfectly placed X inside it. At the center of the talisman was what _looked_ like a bright red, transparent marble.

"Witches make these," said Green Kat. "They give Felidan the ability to shape-shift and change their size. You know, something other than the humongous _furballs_ that Egh and Butch can be. Only a few forms have ever been mastered, and it's taken many, many years to do just that."

"What does this have to do with you guys?" I asked.

"Quite a bit, actually," Green Kat purred, and lied down in front of me. "Witches, or as we call them: Black Kats—with a K!—make these. Yes, I love K's; they make such a neat sound. Kuh. _Kuh!_ Anyway. Where we are from, being associated with Black Kats is considered treason because we can change reality, or at least that's what most Felidan and other intelligent species think. I made my charm, Egh's and Butch's, too.

"To put it simply, Butch is an assassin, hired by one of the queens to destroy Black Kats. Egh and I are the only ones who are close to him in any way, but no one but us knows that. Through the charm, I know every one of their thoughts." She hissed a snicker.

"Saved Butcher's life when he was a kitten, then ran across him after he'd caught his first renegade and needed a wound treated. We're old friends, I guess you could say. So since association with Black Kats is forbidden, Butcher told no one and went about his life as a loner…" Green Kat looked back at Butch with a soft look in her red eyes that made me wonder if they had something going on.

Butch padded up to Green Kat and licked her head. "Very few know anything about me other than I'm one of the top Felidan assassins," he rumbled between licks. "I know the kinds of things that Green Kat can do, and that is why I do not and will not trust the Black Kats."

"You lost me a few miles back," I said.

Egh tossed his eyes. "Mine and Green Kat's mother was a Black Kat," he said, adding to the confusing story. "Only females can become Black Kats, and so Green Kat was in training to become a Black Kat. Our mother died before she could finish her training, and has since stayed _Green Kat._ Her name has nothing to do with her fur. Butcher and Kat have a strong friendship that nothing can come between. That is the explanation for Green Kat's name and why Butch has not killed her." Egh rolled his forepaw around with a lose wrist, like something you'd see on Scar do on The Lion King. He looked bored and annoyed at the same time. "You know the rest. Now can we leave before sunrise?"

Butch took Green Kat's necklace in his mouth and put it over Kat's head.

"I know that you don't have to explain _anything_ to me, but why are you here?" I asked. "Why aren't you back…wherever you came from?"

"_Ugh."_ Egh shook his head. Geez, what did I say? Was he PMSing or something? "Our ship crashed upon landing and we don't have what it takes to fix it. We came here to study—or at least _I_ did. Kat came along for the ride. Butch used the first excuse he had to come to Earth with authorization."

"Are you telling me that you're the 'little' green Martian's that people freak over?" I laughed.

All three of the alien cats exchanged glances before saying, "Maybe."

"There're some real funky things out there, mind you," Green Kat warned, shaking a toe—or maybe a finger—at me. "Anywhere off of this planet is not the place for humans or little kitties."

"I'm still little?" My ears dropped back in disappointment. It felt strange to have round ears and not long pointed ones, I noticed.

"You were about the size of my toe when I was at my full size," Butch said. "You're little. Get over it."

I scowled after Butch and Green Kat as they padded back over to Egh. "So you guys are just gonna leave now or something?"

"That's the plan," said Green Kat. "It was nice talking to you, but we have to get back to our _own_ planet! I'm sick of this dump."

"And I've collected more than enough information," Egh grumbled, almost in disgust. He sounded more disappointed than he did disgusted, though.


	31. Kitty Puberty

I AM SO SORRY. MRcats just kinda hit a brick wall for a few months. =( I didn't like how Chapter 31 had been, so restarted it, and now it's this. XD It worked out better than the Grease idea, at least. Maybe I'll throw in some musical stuff later. Lol Anyway, this is unedited, because I'm a lazy bum. :'D Sorry for the several-month-long-wait to anyone who's still interested in reading this. I'm just working on SO MUCH at the moment that I hardly have time or inspiration for MRcats.

- Nyctra

-Comment continues at the bottom!!-

**Chapter 31: Kitty Puberty**

Almost as soon as the strange green cats were gone, I had the opposite of a growth spurt. My legs gave way underneath me and I fell onto my belly, wreathing around on the ground until the change stopped. Something stumbling toward me made my ears perk and I looked up.

"Where's my _peanut butter?"_ Fang squeaked, and tripped over his paws. He plopped down next to me. "Hiya, tiny kitty," he muttered. "Can I nap here? Thanks."

"How's your wing?" I asked. "That needle must've been poisonous—you're acting weird. Again.

Fang opened an eye and glared at me. "Heard of sarcasm?"

"Oh, well, sorry. I couldn't tell—things have been so weird and—"

My eyes popped wide when he licked my nose. "Not as good as peanut butter," he muttered, and stuffed his face into his paws. "My wing hurts like frickin' heck, but pretend I didn't admit that to you. So what about a needle?"

The dips and squeaks of his voice made me start to laugh. I covered my mouth with a paw to try not to, but it was too hard. I let a snicker through.

"What's so funny?"

"The poison," I giggled.

"Poison?" he screeched, standing up. _"Poison?"_

I laughed harder. "It's making your voice all funny."

Fang sneezed and his pelt rippled. One wing dragged on the ground as he padded away from me. I jumped up and followed after him, letting him lean on my shoulder for support. He didn't say anything. "Fine, then, _sourpuss." _I rolled my eyes.

The flock met us halfway.

"Hey, guys," Fang made the mistake of saying.

"Whoa, Fang. Sounds like you're going through kitty puberty," Iggy laughed.

Fang spat him and swatted clumsily. "It's the poison doing it," he grumbled.

"Are you sure?" Nudge asked, inspecting him, but looking right over his wounded wing. "I think you might be an inch taller."

"That or you're an inch shorter."

"Quit it, you guys. If you haven't noticed, I'm not a lion anymore. Does that deserve any attention?" I asked, and got blank looks from everyone, especially Iggy.

"No," they said.

I frowned and my ears drooped.

Fang tuned away from everyone and started to claw his way up into a tree.

"Careful," I called, looking up at him as he clumsily made his way to the nearest branch.

"Yeah, you might squish Max," Iggy mumbled, and I shot him a glare.

"I'm tired," Fang growled down at us. "Shut up and let me sleep."

Nudge looked to me for an answer. "Something huge smashed its way through the trees, and he wants to take a _nap?"_

"That huge thing almost ate me," I said, and shivered. "But he's gone now, _thank God."_

"Was this while or after you were a lion?" Nudge asked, suddenly worried.

"_While,"_ I said, and climbed up into the tree after Fang. "I'm kind of sleepy, too. You guys squabble over who gets to take up watch."

Down on the flock's level, there were groans and moans. I lied down on a branch near Fang's and watched them for a while before closing my eyes.

----------

A/C

Have any of you heard of InvaderTigerstar? Well guess what? Tigerstar—THEE TIGERSTAR—has given me the honor of shading the characters in her manga. *does happy dance* It's turning out beautiful, I have to say.

Also, I am working on the real story about the Felidans. 8D It's going to be in manga form, because I find it very hard to explain with words. And besides, manga is an awesome change from my usual style. XD It'll also give more insight as to what these guys look like, and yeah. It'll be great. I have a few sketched pages up on DA. Just look up "Nyctra Scandia" or ask for the link to my page.


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